GIFT  OF 


r 


THE  LAW  OF  FAITH 


WITH  A  LAWYER'S  NOTES 
ON   THE    WRITTEN    LAW 


By 
JOSEPH  F.  RANDOLPH 


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'*'<•»•••»>          »  »  '    o    %   »lj»«* 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 

NEW    YORK  AND    LONDON 

Iftnicfcerbocfcer  press 
1914 


COPYRIGHT,  1914 

BY 

JOSEPH    P.  RANDOLP1 


. 

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7 


TZbe  t?nfcherbocfter  press,  flew  tforh 


FOREWORD 

writer  of  this  work  is  already  known  among 
1  the  members  of  his  profession  as  the  author 
of  a  number  of  books  of  law  of  such  good  repute 
as  to  excite  a  just  expectation  of  finding  intrinsic 
worth  and  excellence  in  this  venture  by  him  into 
a  new  realm  of  literature. 

We  were  classmates  in  college  over  fifty  years 
ago  and  began  to  be  friends  in  that  distant  and 
happy  period.  Ever  since,  we  have  dwelt  and 
laboured  in  the  neighbourhood  of  one  another  with- 
in the  limits  of  Greater  New  York  but  not  within  the 
same  professional  fellowship.  His  labour  of  many 
years,  however,  upon  this  latest  volume  from  his 
pen,  has  brought  us  into  a  new  fellowship  and  has 
resulted  in  giving  me  the  privilege  and  pleasure  of  a 
foreword  concerning  a  treatise  which  I  have  read 
with  profound  interest. 

It  is  the  product  of  a  peculiarly  thorough  search 
of  the  Scriptures  of  both  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments. The  full  significance  of  the  familiar  word 
which  forms  its  theme  is  presented  in  a  fresh  and 
interesting  way.  How  thoroughly  and  pre-emi- 
nently the  Bible  is  a  Book  of  Faith  and  the  Book 
of  the  Faith  is  made  to  appear  with  an  impressive 

iii 


iv  Foreword 

vividness.  The  vision,  concept,  and  content  of 
the  word  and  the  thoroughness  and  scope  of  the 
citations  from  the  Book,  are  equally  satisfying. 

The  relation  of  Faith  to  Faithfulness  and  the 
coupling  of  the  one  with  the  other  strikes  with 
emphasis  the  strong  ethical  note,  sometimes  lack- 
ing in  the  treatment  of  this  subject.  The  seeking 
and  finding  of  both  faith  and  faithfulness  in  the 
nature  and  character  of  God  whence  they  come  to 
men  and  women  who  are  created  in  His  image,  will 
challenge  attention  and  carry  conviction. 

The  excellent  and  well  chosen  title  of  the  book, 
The  Law  of  Faith,  sets  forth  admirably  what  is 
fundamental  in  the  thought  of  the  author  and  the 
Biblical  conception  and  treatment  of  this  subject. 

The  student  will  find  himself  sharing  with 
growing  interest  in  a  search  from  the  beginning  to 
the  end  of  the  Scriptures  for  a  testimony  and 
declaration  concerning  Faith  which  indicates  in  a 
forceful  way  how  this  word  contains  the  central 
and  pervasive  message  of  the  Book  of  Books,  and 
he  will  be  grateful  for  the  reward  he  receives  from 
the  study  which  he  has  shared  with  the  author. 

RICHARD  C.  MORSE. 

OFFICE  OF  GENERAL  SECRETARY, 

INTERNATIONAL  COMMITTEE  Y.  M.  C.  A. 

NEW  YORK, 

December,  1913. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTKR  PAGE 

I.  THE  BOOK  OF  FAITH  i 

II.  THE  WORDS  OF  FAITH       ...  9 

III.  THE  FAITHFULNESS  OF  GOD       .         .  26 

IV.  THE  FAITHFULNESS  OF  MAN      .         .  42 
V.  FAITH  IN  GOD — AND  HAPPINESS          .  61 

VI.    FAITH  IN  GOD — AND  CONDUCT   .         .       81 

VII.    FAITH    IN    GOD  —  AND    MIND    AND 

CHARACTER        ....       92 

VIII.    FAITH    IN    GOD — AND    FORGIVENESS 

AND  SALVATION.         .         .         .109 

IX.    FAITH  IN  CHRIST — AND  HAPPINESS     .     124 
X.    FAITH  IN  CHRIST — AND  CONDUCT       .     134 

XL    FAITH    IN    CHRIST— AND   MIND  AND 

CHARACTER        .         .         .         .145 

XII.    FAITH  IN  CHRIST — AND  FORGIVENESS 

AND  SALVATION  .         .         .         .160 
v 


vi  Contents 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XIII.     FAITH     IN     WORD,     PROPHET,    AND 

MIRACLE   .         .         .         .  .172 

XIV.    FAITH  IN  MAN          .         .         .  .182 

XV.    VAIN  FAITH     .         .         .         .  .186 

XVI.    ASSURANCE  AND  CONFIDENCE     .  .     191 

XVII.    HOPE  AND  EXPECTATION  .         .  .     199 

XVIII.    TRUTH,  PERSUASION,  AND  BELIEF       .     207 

XIX.    BELIEF  ABOUT  CHRIST      .         .  .     224 

XX.    THE  LAWS  OF  FAITH         .         .  .     239 

FAITH- TEXTS  AND  INDEX  .         .  .     257 


QUERY 

The  writer  of  these  pages  addresses  them  to 
readers,  learned  and  unlearned,  as  a  question, 
which  concerns  them  all: 

What  has  faith  to  do  with  salvation  ? 

There  have  been  many  answers  suggested,  and 
no  learning  is  too  wide,  no  genius  too  intelligent, 
for  a  full  and  plain  answer.  No  man's  lifetime, 
spent  in  study  or  meditation,  is  sufficient  for  it. 

In  these  pages  the  readers  are  referred  to  the 
great  Book  of  Faith  for  the  answer  to  what  every 
soul  needs  know.  The  writer  has  sought  the 
answer  only  in  the  faith-words  of  that  Book.  He 
now  offers  to  others  the  question  with  such  answer 
as  he  could  find  there,  in  the  hope  that  more  wise 
and  learned  men  may  be  moved  to  put  into  simple 
shape  for  plain  readers  such  answers  as  come  to 
them  from  other  and  any  sources  to  supplement 
these  beginnings. 

J.  F.  R. 

MORRISTOWN,    N.   J., 

December  4,  1913. 


vii 


The  Law  of  Faith 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  BOOK  OF  FAITH 

The  Bible  has  been  called  the  Book  of  Faith  and 
it  is  such  in  every  sense.  It  appeals  to  our  faith 
in  things  of  deepest  concern  to  all.  And  it  is  a 
book  about  faith — more  so  than  any  other  great 
book.  It  tells  more  than  other  books  about  faith 
— in  more  varied  language — and  in  more  various  as- 
pects. Almost  every  one  of  the  sixty-six  books,  that 
form  our  English  Bible,  speaks  of  faith.  It  gives 
no  definitions  or  explanations,  but  it  speaks  of 
faith  by  name  more  than  a  thousand  times;  and 
the  ideas  of  truth  and  trust  and  fidelity  and  belief 
that  are  expressed  by  these  names  recur  many 
thousand  times  in  other  words  of  story  and  warn- 
ing and  commandment  and  praise  and  prayer  that 
are  found  in  the  book. 

Relations  of  God  to  men  and  of  men  to  God  are 
stated  as  facts.  These  relations  seem  to  have  to 


2  The  Law  of  Faith 

do  always  with  faith — God's  faith  or  man's  faith. 
The  matter  of  the  Book  concerns  the  life  and  growth 
of  the  spirit,  its  responsibilities  and  its  hopes.  Here 
is  a  field  that  Natural  Science  barely  touches.  Its 
changes  are  due  only  in  small  part  and  indirectly 
to  any  known  laws  of  matter. 

It  is  principally  in  relation  to  man's  present 
surroundings  and  his  future  that  faith  is  a  theme 
of  the  Scriptures.  It  touches  his  allegiance,  his 
duty,  his  resources,  and  his  hope.  It  is  always 
spoken  of  as  it  shows  itself  at  the  time — and 
therefore  in  a  single  phase  or  a  single  operation. 
The  same  name  is  used  for  all  its  varieties;  and 
its  various  names  are  used  for  any  one  of  its  mani- 
festations. Either  there  are  many  things  called 
faith,  or  there  is  one  thing  called  faith  (and  called 
by  other  names  too,  such  as  belief,  trust,  faithful- 
ness), which  manifests  itself  in  various  ways.  The 
phases  sometimes  seem  to  have  little  in  common- 
no  reason  for  a  common  name.  And  they  do  not 
seem  to  be  of  the  same  moral  importance.  The 
duties  of  truth  and  honesty — of  confidence — and 
a  sound  creed  do  not  seem  always  equally  plain. 
The  liberty  of  choice  does  not  seem  equally 
unrestrained. 

The  choice  between  truth  and  falsehood  is 
always  plainly  a  moral  one.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  choice  between  conflicting  beliefs  seems  to  be 
often  as  independent  of  our  will  as  the  weight  of 
our  bodies  or  the  complexion  of  our  skins.  Are 


The  Book  of  Faith  3 

we  responsible  for  faith  in  word  and  not  for  faith 
in  thought?  Is  faith  of  the  heart  a  virtue,  and 
faith  of  the  mind  an  accident  of  experience  or  birth? 
Is  faith  of  the  heart  (our  trust  and  confidence)  the 
only  true  faith?  And  is  faith  of  the  mind  (our 
belief)  a  misnomer?  Are  the  favours  and  blessings 
of  the  faithful  confined  to  a  complete  and  perfect 
faith?  And  is  there  any  such  faith  on  earth?  Or 
is  it  only  the  ideal  and  abstract  Truth  personified? 
On  the  other  hand,  does  everything  that  partakes 
of  faith  and  belongs  to  it — that  comes  and  passes 
away — that  changes  in  form  and  strength  from 
hour  to  hour — claim  the  name  and  receive  the 
benefits  and  do  the  works  of  faith?  An  effort 
is  made  in  these  notes  to  find  an  answer  in  the  Book 
of  Faith  to  all  of  these  questions. 

The  Bible  seems  to  raise  these  questions  and  in 
its  way  to  answer  them.  Other  answers,  made  by 
churches  and  men  and  seemingly  logical  when 
made,  may  be  found  not  to  fit  into  the  complicated 
web  of  a  thousand  texts  and  of  the  ten  thousand 
teachings  on  the  same  subject  which  the  Bible 
offers  in  other  forms. 

The  teachings  of  the  Book — in  its  faith-words 
at  least — resolve  themselves  into  a  few  phrases  and 
into  simple  thoughts,  which  preach  a  gospel,  rather 
than  a  theology,  to  the  poor  in  spirit  and  in  mind. 
The  Lord  is  faithful.  Trust  in  the  Lord.  God  is 
our  confidence  and  sure  defence.  Believe  in 
Christ.  They  that  believe  and  are  faithful  are 


4  The  Law  of  Faith 

His.  Men  believed  the  word.  Continue  in  our 
most  holy  faith. 

Apart  from  faith-words  there  is  a  constant  call 
in  the  Bible  to  faith  in  every  form — a  presentation 
of  God's  faith  in  His  relations  to  men — and  an 
indication  and  expression  of  faith  in  Him,  and 
there  is  in  the  New  Testament  a  warm  and  increas- 
ing expression  of  faith  in  Christ  His  Son.  Every 
story  of  what  God  has  wrought  brings  out  in 
various  pictures  the  form  of  the  One  who  is  always 
faithful.  And  every  line  that  recites  what  He 
requires  of  men  shows  men  who  are  called  and 
are  trying  and  learning  to  believe  what  is  true — 
to  trust  Him  that  is  faithful — and  to  be  faithful 
themselves  in  the  things  that  are  their  own. 

It  is  evident  that  the  Lord  asks  for  a  full  faith. 
But  He  rejoices  in  its  most  meagre  and  feeble 
effort.  The  Bible  offers  no  hint  of  how  small  or 
incomplete  the  faith  may  be  and  be  accepted  and 
recognised  by  Him.  And  it  makes  no  fine  dis- 
tinction between  complete  and  partial  faith — or 
between  different  kinds  of  faith — or  between  an 
easy  and  a  costly  faith.  But  perhaps  the  Lord 
sees  in  faith's  slightest  movement,  and  in  all 
living  souls,  some  smallest  living  germ.  The 
germ  may  be  already  in  His  sight  the  potential 
faith  that  shall  remove  mountains  and  the  belief 
that  shall  ripen  into  a  knowing  as  we  are  known. 

No  attempt  is  made  here  to  note  the  many  forms 
in  which  without  faith-words  faith  is  still  the 


The  Book  of  Faith  5 

uppermost  thought.  There  are  assertions  of  truth 
that  call  for  assent — commandments  that  ask 
obedience — services  that  require  faithfulness — 
great  works  of  the  Almighty  that  command  our 
praise — sins  and  distresses  poured  out  in  prayer — 
deliverances  and  thanksgivings — aspirations  and 
vows. 

God  is  in  heaven — but  "the  Lord's  name"  is 
always  on  the  lips  and  on  the  pen  of  the  sacred 
writers. 

The  Bible  is  not  full  of  vain  repetitions.  It 
makes  faith  the  one  great  work  of  man,  on  which 
his  present  and  future  rest.  It  may  not  explain 
why  this  is  so.  But  it  does  show  that  it  is  so, 
and  how  it  is  so,  in  ways  which,  when  viewed 
together,  make  faith  seem  to  be  the  only  reasonable 
imaginable  path — the  road  back  to  the  Father's 
house. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  Bible  as  constantly 
spoken  of  as  faith.  In  the  roughest  times  courage 
was  its  servant.  And  in  the  ripest  times  wisdom 
is  its  handmaid.  And  in  all  times  love  is  its  vital 
function — toward  men,  the  greatest  thing  in  the 
world,  the  love  of  one's  fellow-men — and  toward 
God,  the  love  of  heart  and  mind,  that  brings  to 
Him  a  child's  obedience  and  confidence. 

One  Faith  and  Many  Forms.     Can   we  say 

that  belief  and  trust  and  faithfulness  are  one?  Do 
they  differ  essentially?  Do  they  lead  to  one 


6  The  Law  of  Faith 

another,  as  cause  and  effect,  and  in  what  order? 
Can  they  exist  separately,  or  to  the  exclusion  of 
one  another? 

Belief  accepts  a  thing  as  true.  Trust  relies  on 
it  as  true,  and  looks  forward  to  it  as  sure.  Faith- 
fulness speaks  what  is  true  and  does  what  is 
promised  or  commanded.  The  thing  to  be  be- 
lieved and  relied  and  acted  on  is  sometimes  called 
"the  faith."  The  truth  presented  for  man's 
acceptance  may  be  a  condition  to  be  met — a  fact 
to  be  recognised — a  law  to  be  obeyed — a  duty  to 
be  done — a  warning  to  be  heeded — a  promise  to 
be  trusted. 

For  the  present,  there  is  faithfulness — for  the 
future,  confidence — for  the  past,  intelligence, 
reflection,  and  belief;  for  the  will,  faithfulness — for 
the  heart,  confidence — for  the  mind,  belief. 

All  these  phases  are  familiar  to  us  from  child- 
hood. Logically  trust  seems  to  follow  belief,  and 
faithfulness  to  follow  trust.  Actually  and  often 
they  follow  one  another  in  some  different  order. 
And  either  one  may  be  experiment,  which  ripens 
into  or  confirms  the  other. 

Faithfulness,  Trust,  and  Belief  all  make  a  link 
between  man  and  God — the  man's  link — likened 
to  an  outstretched  hand,  that  asks  and  reaches 
and  grasps  and  holds.  They  all  have  this  in 
common  and  each  of  them  singly  has  it :  that  they 
work  together  and  all  work  alike.  They  naturally 
lead  to  one  another  or  strengthen  one  another.  A 


The  Book  of  Faith  7 

man  may  have  a  living  faith — and  live  by  that 
faith — and  it  may  seem  to  be  only  one  and  any 
one  of  these:  a  living  fidelity  or  trust  or  creed.  If 
it  is  living,  and  he  lives  by  it,  it  must  bear  the  tests 
of  life  in  its  movement  and  character  and  works. 

Faith  and  Environment.  Faith  relates  to  and 
depends  on  that  which  is  without.  This  may  be 
behind  us,  around  us,  above  us,  or  before  us — but 
not  in  us  or  of  us. 

To  ignore  truth  is  unbelief.  It  is  unbelief  to 
think  that  our  goodness  and  greatness  are  in  our- 
selves— to  blame  heredity,  environment,  and  oppor- 
tunity for  what  goes  wrong  and  to  pride  ourselves 
for  what  goes  well.  Pleasing  one's  self  and  being 
pleased  with  one's  self — these  are  the  opposites  of 
faith. 

Faith  recognises  powers  that  lie  outside  of  us — • 
leans  back  upon  them— reaches  toward  them — and 
receives  from  them.  A  vital  receiving  depends  on 
the  spirit's  appetite— its  feeling  of  hunger,  depend- 
ence, and  readiness.  That  appetite  or  feeling  is 
not  strength.  It  is  a  receptiveness  or  faculty  for 
reaching  the  outside  realities  that  give  strength. 
Such  feeling  may  be  instinctive  or  developed. 
But  no  form  of  faith,  be  it  belief  or  trust  or  faith- 
fulness or  aspiration,  gives  life.  At  best  it  is  the 
turning,  the  movement,  or  the  reaching  of  the  spirit 
toward  the  bread  it  needs. 

And  this  is  true  not  only  of  the  faith  itself,  but 


8  The  Law  of  Faith 

of  the  character  that  it  develops,  the  actions  that 
it  prompts,  and  the  works  that  follow  it. 

Perfect  analogies  are  found  in  bodily  appetite 
and  food — and  in  mental  thirst  and  knowledge. 
The  appetite  brings  us  to  the  food.  The  mind's 
thirst  leads  to  knowledge.  So,  too,  movement 
brings  into  new  situations  and  relations,  but  it  is 
the  new  relation  and  not  the  movement  that 
supplies  the  need. 

The  consideration  of  the  subject  follows,  as 
nearly  as  may  be,  the  order  in  which  the  different 
phases  or  forms  of  faith  are  presented  in  the 
Scripture.  No  attempt  is  made  in  the  Scriptures 
to  indicate  their  relative  importance  or  their  order 
of  sequence,  in  which  they  would  seem  most  natur- 
ally to  occur.  It  may  be  doubted  whether  there 
is  in  most  men  any  regular  sequence — or  whether 
any  man  is  competent  to  assign  a  relative  import- 
ance to  the  different  phases  of  faith.  Their  differ- 
ent development  in  different  individuals  can  hardly 
be  more  easily  traced  or  explained.  To  do  this 
would  involve  a  complete  knowledge  of  the  dis- 
position and  circumstances  of  every  man. 

Faith  seems  to  be  a  universal  something  that 
may  be  looked  for  in  some  form  in  every  man — and 
that  can  be  found  in  all  its  forms  and  at  all  times 
in  none. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  WORDS  OF  FAITH 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  faith-words  fall  largely 
into  five  classes,  which  express  primarily  trust, 
belief,  fidelity,  hope,  and  assurance  or  certainty. 
The  sixty  or  seventy  words  used  in  the  English 
Scriptures  fall  easily  into  these  classes.  Some  of 
them  occur  but  once  and  many  more  occur  very 
seldom. 

While  they  are  not  interchangeable,  many  of 
the  words  partake  of  more  than  one  meaning,  and 
are  used  in  different  meanings  in  different  passages. 
So,  too,  each  of  the  more  common  faith-words  in 
the  original  is  translated  into  English  generally  by 
its  own  word,  but  often  by  a  different  one. 

The  word  "faith"  is  more  comprehensive  than 
"faithful,"  and  "believe"  is  more  comprehensive 
than  "belief."  To  "trust"  is  more  single  in  its 
meaning  than  other  common  faith-words;  but 
"faith"  generally  takes  the  place  of  "trust"  as  a 
noun,  and  "faithful"  and  "believing"  are  used 
instead  of  "trustful." 

As  in  the  original  text,  so  in  our  English  versions, 

9 


io  The  Law  of  Faith 

the  root  of  the  word  may  be  found  in  common  use 
only  in  the  verb  or  the  adjective  or  the  noun,  and 
for  its  other  parts  of  speech  it  may  adopt  that  which 
is  in  use  for  another  root. 

Thus,  the  man  who  has  faith  trusts  God  and  is 
a  believer.  The  man  who  believes  in  God  is 
faithful.  The  faithful  servant  obeys  his  Lord. 
The  believer  is  confident.  His  hope  is  an  anchor. 
He  puts  his  trust  in  the  faithfulness  of  God.  He 
believes  His  word.  He  keeps  the  faith. 

The  faith -words  recur  most  frequently  in  Gal. 
iii.,  Rom.  iv.,  and  Heb.  xi.  In  Gal.  iii.  there  are 
seventeen  passages,  all  but  three  without  an  express 
object.  And  there  is  much  variety  in  form :  obey, 
faith,  truth,  believe,  and  faithful.  Men  obey  the 
truth — by  faith's  hearing  they  receive  the  Holy 
Spirit  and  the  Divine  power  and  righteousness — 
heathen  are  justified  by  it — the  righteous  live  by 
it  and  not  by  their  obedience.  Abraham  believed 
God — was  faithful.  The  law  was  not  of  faith — 
but  faith  came,  and  men  believed,  and  through 
faith  in  Christ  became  God's  sons.  The  law  shuts 
men  in  a  prison  house — faith  opens  to  them  a 
deliverance.  The  law  leads  to  Christ.  He  makes 
them  righteous,  by  means  of  faith.  Man  is  a 
pupil  in  charge  of  His  father's  servant  Law. 
Faith  raises  the  man  to  God's  full  sonship.  The 
law  brought  condemnation.  Through  faith  Christ 
brought  redemption. 

In  Rom.  iv.  the  faith-word  recurs  sixteen  times 


The  Words  of  Faith  11 

— believe,  faith,  hope,  unbelief.  In  all  but  two  of 
these  passages  no  object  is  named.  Abraham 
believed  God — believed  in  hope — had  faith — not 
stumbling  in  unbelief,  but  strong  in  faith.  His 
faith  was  called  righteousness  by  God.  We  too 
may  believe  on  the  same  God  and  walk  in  the  same 
faith. 

In  Heb.  xi.  the  faith-word  recurs  twenty-nine 
times — almost  always  as  faith,  once  as  hope,  and 
twice  as  believe — and  only  once  with  an  object 
expressed.  Faith  was  in  human  life — in  earliest 
and  latest  times,  in  Jew  and  heathen — "the  evi- 
dence of  things  not  seen, "  the  witness  and  display 
of  the  power  of  God. 

Faith.  The  word  "faith"  occurs  but  twice  in 
the  Old  Testament  and  about  two  hundred  and 
fifty  times  in  the  New  Testament.  "Faithful" 
is  found  about  thirty  times  in  the  Old  Testament 
and  forty  times  in  the  New  Testament.  "Faith- 
less," "infidel,"  and  "fidelity"  are  found  only 
in  the  New  Testament,  in  all  but  eight  times. 
"Faithfulness,"  "unfaithful,"  and  "unfaithfully" 
are  found  only  in  the  Old  Testament,  in  all  twenty- 
two  times.  ' '  Faithfully ' '  is  found  five  times  in  the 
Old  Testament  and  once  in  the  New  Testament. 
A  few  other  words  occur  once  each  in  the  Old 
Testament,  in  translation  of  the  same  words  in 
the  original,  in  the  sense  of  faithful. 

In  the  New  Testament  (where  the  words  "be- 


12  The  Law  of  Faith 

lief"  and  "trust"  are  almost  as  rare  as  the  word 
"faith"  is  in  the  Old  Testament)  the  word  "faith" 
like  the  word  "believe"  is  used  to  express  both 
belief  and  trust,  and  in  some  instances,  especially 
when  used  with  the  definite  article,  the  thing 
believed,  the  truth. 

As  in  the  word  believe,  the  meaning  of  faith  is 
shown  in  some  cases  by  the  context,  and  in  a  very 
few  others  by  the  personal  object  of  faith  con- 
nected with  it  by  a  preposition.  In  about  nine- 
tenths  of  the  cases  it  is  plainly  used  to  indicate 
faith  in  God  or  in  Christ  in  the  sense  of  trust  in 
Him. 

The  words  "faithful"  and  "unfaithful,"  "faith- 
fulness" and  "faithfully"  are  used  almost  invari- 
ably for  the  truth  or  unchangeableness  of  God 
or  for  the  fidelity  of  man. 

Trust.  The  word  "trust "  is  found  one  hundred 
and  fifty  times  in  the  Old  Testament  and  twenty- 
five  times  in  the  New  Testament.  In  the  Old 
Testament  it  occurs  twice  in  Deuteronomy, 
eighteen  times  in  the  historical  books,  and  one 
hundred  and  thirty  times  in  the  poetical  books. 

As  a  verb  this  word  is  used  but  once  (Is.  xii.,  2) 
without  an  object.  It  occurs  as  a  noun,  "my 
trust,"  "to  put  trust,"  "to  put  in  trust,"  etc., 
about  thirty  times  in  the  Old  Testament  and  five 
times  in  the  New  Testament.  And  it  is  used  once 
in  the  Old  Testament  in  the  sense  of  think  or 


The  Words  of  Faith  13 

believe  (Job  xl.,  23),  and  ten  times  in  the  New 
Testament  in  the  sense  of  expect  or  hope.  In  all 
other  places  it  is  used  to  express  trust  or  confidence 
and  not  belief. 

The  words  "trustful"  and  "trustfulness"  do  not 
occur  in  the  Scriptures,  and  their  place  is  supplied 
by  the  words  ' '  faithful ' '  and  ' '  believing.  ' '  In  this 
case  as  an  adjective,  there  is  a  change  to  the  Greek 
root  which  is  generally  translated  by  the  English 
verb  "believe"  in  both  these  senses. 

So,  the  negatives  "mistrust"  and  "distrust" 
are  not  found  in  the  Scriptures,  but  are  translated 
by  "unbelief"  and  "believe  not"  and  sometimes 
(and  especially  in  the  Revised  Version)  by  "dis- 
obedience." The  Greek  original  uses  like  roots 
in  either  meaning — but  chiefly  to  express  a  want 
of  trust  or  a  want  of  faithfulness. 

In  almost  all  of  the  passages  in  which  the  word 
trust  occurs  one  Greek  root  predominates  in  the 
Old  Testament  and  another  in  the  New  Testament. 
A  third  Greek  root  in  both  Testaments  becomes 
faith  and  faithful  in  the  sense  of  trust  or  belief  and 
faithfulness  in  the  sense  of  fidelity. 

Besides  the  English  word  trust  a  few  other  words 
are  used  now  and  then  in  the  same  sense  and  in 
translation  of  the  same  original.  Such  words  are 
commit,  look  unto,  wait  for,  stay  on,  rest,  and  rely. 

Believe.  The  word  "believe"  is  found  about 
three  hundred  times  in  the  Scriptures,  and  five  or 


14  The  Law  of  Faith 

six  times  as  frequently  in  the  New  Testament  as  in 
the  Old  Testament.  It  has  a  corresponding  noun, 
"belief,"  but  this  occurs  only  once  in  the  Bible. 
"Unbelief"  occurs  in  the  New  Testament  sixteen 
times,  in  the  sense  of  want  of  confidence  or  of 
faithfulness.  There  is  no  corresponding  adjective, 
except  so  far  as  the  participles  "believing"  and 
"unbelieving"  are  used  as  such  in  a  few  instances. 
They  occur  only  in  the  New  Testament  and  in  all 
only  fourteen  times.  The  nouns  "believer"  and 
"unbeliever"  likewise  occur  only  in  the  New 
Testament  and  in  all  only  five  times.  All  of  these 
derivatives  are  generally  used  in  the  sense  of 
trust  or  faithfulness.  The  words  "disbelieve" 
and  "disbelief"  do  not  occur  in  the  Scriptures. 

"Believe"  sometimes  means  trust,  sometimes 
belief,  and  now  and  then  faithfulness.  With  an 
object  expressed  its  meaning  is  generally  un- 
ambiguous. It  is  seldom  used  in  common  speech 
without  an  object,  but  this  is  of  very  frequent 
occurrence  in  the  Scriptures. 

Its  meaning  in  the  Saxon  original,  to  hold  dear, 
seems  to  indicate  a  trust  rather  than  a  belief. 
In  the  German  Bible  the  same  word,  Glauben,  is 
used  freely  both  for  belief  and  trust.  In  modern 
English  speech  "believe"  (not  "believe  in"  or 
"on")  generally  means  belief,  there  being  in  com- 
mon use  another  Saxon  verb  for  trust  and  a 
Latin  adjective  for  faithful. 

"Believe "  has  been  almost  invariably  translated 


The  Words  of  Faith  15 

in  the  Vulgate  by  one  word  credo,  which  may  once 
have  meant  both  belief  and  trust,  but  which  in 
English  has  come  now  to  mean  nothing  but  a 
belief  or  creed.  This  Latin  root  is  now  found  in 
English  only  as  an  adjective  or  noun  (credible, 
credulous,  and  creed),  and  always  in  the  sense  of 
belief.  Perhaps  a  secondary  meaning  had  already 
been  lost  in  the  supreme  emphasis  which  began  to 
be  laid  by  church  councils  and  rulers  on  formal 
creeds  at  least  a  hundred  years  before  the  Vulgate 
was  written.  The  more  common  Latin  words  for 
trust  or  confidence  (fides,  fidelis)  occur  frequently 
in  the  Latin  Scriptures  and  reappear  in  the  English 
words  faith,  faithful,  fidelity,  and  confidence. 
There  is  no  corresponding  English  or  Latin  verb 
in  common  use.  These  nouns  and  adjective  trans- 
late the  same  Greek  roots,  which  we  find  generally 
translated  in  verbs  by  credo  and  believe. 

"Believe"  in  more  than  one-half  the  passages 
where  it  is  used  expresses  trust  or  confidence.  It 
is  not  used  half  as  often  to  express  belief  or  creed. 
In  about  forty  other  passages  it  may  be  either  or 
both.  Twice  in  the  Gospel  of  John  (with  the  object 
expressed)  and  six  times  in  the  epistles  (where  no 
object  is  expressed)  it  seems  to  have  the  meaning 
of  faithfulness. 

It  is  naturally  and  generally  a  transitive  verb, 
but  in  about  one-half  of  the  Scripture  passages  no 
object  is  expressed.  This  seems  to  raise  the 
question,  Believe  whom?  Believe  what?  In  about 


1 6  The  Law  of  Faith 

two-thirds    of   the   cases,    where   the   object   is 
expressed,  it  is  trust  in  a  person. 

The  object,  where  it  is  a  thing  believed,  gen- 
erally follows  the  verb  in  the  dative  or  accusative 
case  or  is  drawn  after  it  by  a  preposition  in  or  on, 
or  by  the  conjunction  that.  A  man  may  believe 
what  is  said  or  written — or  he  may  believe  in 
or  on  a  person — or  he  may  believe  that  a  thing 
happened  or  is  true. 

Believe  in  or  on.  This  is  a  Hebraism,  but  it  is 
very  seldom  found  in  the  Old  Testament,  and 
then  always  in  the  sense  of  trusting  in  God.  In 
some  of  these  Old  Testament  passages  the  object 
of  the  verb  is  in  the  dative  case.  In  others  it  is 
connected  with  it  by  a  preposition  literally  trans- 
lated "  in  "  or  "  on. " 

In  the  synoptic  gospels  it  occurs  but  once  and  in 
the  Acts  and  epistles  very  rarely.  In  the  Gospel 
of  John  it  is  of  frequent  occurrence.  This  may  be 
in  translation  of  the  dative  case  or  of  any  one  of 
three  Greek  prepositions;  literally,  in,  on,  upon, 
into,  unto.  But  it  is  generally  a  translation  of  the 
preposition  meaning  into  or  unto.  Almost  three- 
fifths  of  all  the  passages  in  which  this  phrase 
occurs  are  in  the  Gospel  of  John.  Many  of  them 
are  the  recorded  words  of  Christ  Himself.  All  of 
them  mean  trust  in  Christ.  They  express  the 
confidence  that  puts  a  man  into  Christ,  or  com- 
mits him  unto  Christ.  So,  the  other  prepositions 


The  Words  of  Faith  17 

seem  to  indicate  a  resting  upon  God  or  Christ,  or 
hiding  in  Him.  All  of  them  seem  to  indicate  the 
believer's  position  or  attitude  or  movement  toward 
God  or  toward  Christ. 

Believe  that  or  for.  The  ambiguity  of  the  Greek 
conjunction,  oti,  which  is  generally  translated 
"that, "  but  may  be  translated  "  because  "or  "  for, " 
leaves  it  doubtful  in  some  cases  whether  the  man 
is  said  to  trust  God  because  of  a  fact  which  is  his 
reason  for  the  trust,  or  to  believe  that  the  fact 
stated  is  true.  It  is  found  with  the  verb ' '  believe  " 
four  times  in  the  Old  Testament  and  twenty-nine 
times  in  the  New  Testament. 

In  the  Magnificat  in  Luke  the  conjunction  is 
translated  "for. "  In  the  Gospel  of  John  it  occurs 
seventeen  times  with  the  verb  "believe"  and  four 
times  it  is  translated  "  because. "  But  in  the  ma- 
jority of  the  passages  where  it  is  found,  it  is  trans- 
lated that  in  our  English  versions.  In  all  of  these 
passages  in  the  Gospel  of  John  and  almost  all  of  the 
other  passages  it  is  translated  because,  quia,  in  the 
Latin  of  the  Vulgate.  In  these  cases  the  meaning 
of  believing  will  nearly  always  vary  with  the 
translation  of  this  conjunction.  And  our  English 
version  has  used  both  translations  of  the  conjunc- 
tion in  many  instances  within  a  few  verses  of  one 
another,  and  in  one  instance  at  least  (John  xvi.,  27) 
in  the  same  verse. 

In  I  John  v.,  I,  and  John  xiv.,  1 1,  the  Geeek  con- 


1 8  The  Law  of  Faith 

junction  is  translated  "because  "  in  the  Vulgate,  and 
may  perhaps  be  so  translated  here.  This  seems 
to  be  true  especially  in  the  gospel  passage  where 
His  works  are  offered  by  Christ  as  additional  reason 
for  their  trusting  Him,  if  they  will  not  believe  Him 
because  of  His  declared  identity  with  the  Father. 

In  Romans  x.,  9,  it  may  be  proper  to  translate 
the  conjunction  in  the  same  way,  although  the 
Vulgate  translates  it  that.  The  mind  may  believe 
that  a  thing  is  so;  the  heart  believes,  because  it  is 
so.  This  text  is  a  specific  application  to  the  Jews 
of  that  day  of  the  less  precise  word  of  the  ancient 
prophet  (which  specified  neither  faith  nor  confes- 
sion), because  if  you  confess  Him  and  believe 
Him  (for  He  is  near),  you  shall  be  saved  by  Him. 
In  this  sentence  the  same  conjunction  occurs  twice 
in  the  original  and  is  translated  by  the  Vulgate 
once  because  and  once  that. 

In  John  xiii.  and  xiv.  Christ  foretells  His  death 
in  order  that  His  disciples  may  "believe"  (John 
xiii.,  19) — that  (or  for)  He  is  God's  Messiah — or 
simply  (John  xiv.,  29)  that  they  may  "believe." 
In  the  former  passage  the  Vulgate,  and  seemingly 
with  reason,  translates  oti,  because. 

It  is  not  impossible  that  the  same  phrase  may 
mean  in  one  place  a  trust  in  Christ  because  of  what 
He  is  and  in  another  place  a  belief  of  what  He  is, 
as  the  emphasis  or  the  aim  of  the  passage  changes. 

In  John  xi.,  26,  Christ  asks  of  Martha,  "  Believest 
thou  this?"  He  had  spoken  of  His  power  to  give 


The  Words  of  Faith  19 

life  and  of  her  personal  trust  in  Him.  His  ques- 
tion might  well  mean  both.  And  so  may  Martha's 
answer  be  a  confession  of  her  faith  in  Him  as 
Christ  and  of  her  belief  that  He  was  the  Christ  and 
had  the  power  of  life.  And  there  is  perhaps  a  like 
double  meaning  in  some  other  cases. 

In  I  John  v.,  I,  and  5,  the  conjunction  seems  to 
give  the  reason,  the  fact  on  which  the  faith  rests. 
We  believe  that  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God.  We 
believe  Him  because  He  is  the  Son  of  God.  This 
was  believed  by  those  to  whom  John  wrote.  But 
the  entire  passage  seems  to  be  speaking  not  of 
their  belief  but  of  their  trust  in  Christ.  The  same 
conjunction  occurs  at  the  beginning  of  verse 
4  and  is  translated  both  in  the  English  and 
Latin  by  the  word  for  and  not  that:  "His  com- 
mandments are  not  grievous,  for"  he  that  is  born 
of  God  is  conqueror.  For  that  very  reason  we 
trust  Him  and  in  our  trust  lies  our  victory. 

In  John  xx.,  31,  the  purpose  of  the  writing  is 
declared  to  be  that  they  might  "believe"  and 
"believing"  might  have  life.  The  first  faith-verb 
is  followed  by  the  conjunction,  and  is  translated 
believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  (Eng.)  or  believe 
because  He  is  (Vulg.).  It  may  be  intended  to 
shift  the  meaning  of  the  faith-word  here,  beginning 
with  a  belief  about  Him  and  ending  with  that 
belief  in  Him  which  led  to  life.  Almost  imme- 
diately preceding  these  words  Christ  had  said  to 
Thomas  in  the  same  words,  Thou  hast  believed 


20  The  Law  of  Faith 

me  "because  thou  hast  seen  me,"  and  here  the 
English  and  the  Vulgate  agree. 

In  Rom.  x.,  9,  the  emphasis  seems  to  be  upon 
the  faith  in  Christ  and  confession  of  Him  as  Lord 
based  on  His  resurrection  from  the  dead.  This 
was  the  reason  of  their  faith.  Both  A.  V.  and 
Vulgate,  however,  here  agree  in  the  translation, 
viz.,  believe  that  God  hath  raised.  But  in  the 
same  sentence  the  same  word  had  already  occurred 
and  been  translated  "because"  in  the  Vulgate  and 
the  R.  V.,  and  "  that "  in  the  A.  V.  And  there  is  in 
more  than  one  passage  of  this  chapter  of  Romans 
a  reference  to  the  word  and  the  preaching,  and 
seemingly  to  men's  belief  of  the  thing  preached, 
as  well  as  to  their  faith  in  the  Lord  to  whom  the 
word  related.  It  appears,  however,  in  verse  18 
and  in  the  time  of  the  prophet  quoted,  that  the 
essential  "word"  on  which  men's  faith  might  rest 
had  gone  out  "into  all  the  earth."  It  could  not 
therefore  be  any  word  about  Christ  or  His  resur- 
rection. That  "word"  had  been  heard.  It  was 
spoken  by  the  works  and  judgments  of  God  which 
were  "clearly  seen"  (Rom.  i.,  20)  and  which  "men 
did  not  like  to  retain  in  their  knowledge  "  and  their 
conscience  (Rom.  i.,  28). 

In  many  passages  "believe"  is  found  in  a  con- 
text after  some  history  of  preaching  or  teaching. 
It  may  be  that  the  idea  of  belief  of  the  teaching  is  at 
least  present  in  all  of  these  together  with  that  of 
trust  in  Christ.  And  this  is  apart  from,  and  with- 


The  Words  of  Faith  21 

out,  any  subordinate  statement  or  thought  of 
specific  things  believed.  Probably  the  things 
were  always  the  death  and  resurrection  of  Christ 
and  His  Messiah-ship  and  the  mercy  of  God  and 
the  sin  of  men. 

Believe  or  Obey.  In  eight  passages  the  Revised 
Version  has  substituted  disobedient  for  unbelieving. 

In  Acts  xix.,  9,  Paul  had  been  disputing  and 
persuading  and  some  believed  not.  Here  the 
same  Greek  word  is  used  in  both  cases,  and  it  is 
evident  that  those  that  were  not  persuaded  lacked 
faith  in  Christ  and  failed  to  trust  Him. 

The  change  is  made  in  all  the  other  passages 
from  one  Greek  word  that  generally  meant  believe 
to  another  that  generally  meant  trust.  In  John 
iii.,  36,  the  change  of  Greek  word  is  from  an  affirma- 
tive belief  in  the  Son  to  a  negative  unbelief,  in 
which  the  stronger  word  is  used  to  express  a  want 
of  faith  and  trust  that  amounted  to  rejection  of  the 
Christ.  It  did  not  come  to  a  question  of  obedience. 

In  Acts  xiv.,  2,  after  a  statement  that  many  Jews 
and  Greeks  believed,  it  is  said  that  the  unbelieving 
Jews  stirred  up  the  Gentiles  to  opposition.  The 
same  thought  runs  through  both.  The  passage 
is  not  speaking  of  men  that  believed  the  word  and 
disobeyed  the  command,  but  of  men  that  believed 
in,  and  trusted  Christ,  and  men  that  did  not. 

In  Rom.  xi.,  30-32  (as  in  Rom.  x.,  21,  where 
both  versions  read  disobedient),  there  is  the  same 


22  The  Law  of  Faith 

change  of  Greek  word  in  the  near  context.  Both 
words  meant  trust.  The  earlier  word  indicated 
belief  and  trust.  In  Acts  xiv.  this  belief  began  with 
the  preaching.  In  Rom.  ii.  it  began  with,  or 
rested  on,  God's  long  providence  toward  the  Jews. 
In  both  passages  the  Vulgate  reads  incredulity 
and  not  disobedience. 

In  Rom.  xv.,  31,  the  Vulgate  reads  infidel  (or 
unfaithful).  The  unconverted  and  unbelieving 
Jews  are  spoken  of. 

The  three  other  passages,  in  Hebrews  iii.,  18; 
iv.,  6 ;  and  iv.,  1 1 ,  all  show  the  same  change  of  Greek 
word  in  the  near  context,  referring  in  each  case  to 
the  same  want  of  faith  and  trust  in  God's  promise 
of  a  country  and  a  rest.  The  Vulgate  reads  incre- 
dulity in  all  of  them.  They  did  not  believe  the 
word,  they  did  not  trust  God. 

The  change  from  unbelief  to  disobedience  in 
these  last  seven  passages  seems  to  bring  misunder- 
standing into  the  text  without  following  the  orig- 
inal more  closely.  The  Greek  word  to  which  the 
change  is  made  is  much  more  frequently  trans- 
lated believe  than  obey  in  both  English  versions. 
In  the  great  majority  of  the  passages  in  which  it 
occurs  in  either  Testament,  it  is  rendered  by  trust 
or  some  equivalent  word. 

Negative  Words  and  Phrases.  Besides  the 
words  " unbelief"  and  "unbelieving,"  already 
spoken  of,  there  is  frequent  use  of  the  negative 


The  Words  of  Faith  23 

forms  of  both  of  the  more  common  Greek  roots. 
In  the  New  Testament  one  root  is  always  trans- 
lated unbelief  and  the  other  about  half  of  the  time 
unbelief  and  half  of  the  time  disobedient.  This 
variation  does  not  seem  to  be  controlled  by  the 
evident  meaning  of  the  context. 

In  the  Old  Testament  a  great  variety  of  English 
words  are  used  in  translation  of  the  same  Greek 
root.  The  more  frequent  of  these  are  rebel,  rebel- 
lious, revolt,  despise,  refuse,  and  provoke.  The 
words  "disobey,"  "disobedient"  are  used  in  the 
Old  Testament  but  three  times  and  always  in 
translation  of  a  different  Greek  word. 

Unfaithfulness,  fear,  and  rebellion  in  the  Old 
Testament  are  called  disobedience  in  the  New 
Testament. 

Persuasion.  The  faith-word  is  also  used  more 
than  thirty  times  for  "persuasion"  in  the  New 
Testament  and  sometimes  in  the  Old  Testament 
for  assenting  or  hindering. 

Confidence  and  Assurance.  The  idea  expressed 
by  the  faith-word  often  takes  the  form  of  con- 
fidence or  of  the  fixed  and  established  condition 
of  things  on  which  it  rests. 

The  words  "confidence,"  "confident,"  are 
found  in  the  Old  Testament  nineteen  times  and  in 
the  New  Testament  thirteen  times.  These  occur 
generally  in  translation  of  the  word  used  more 


24  The  Law  of  Faith 

often  for  "trust"  or  "hope."  So,  in  the  Old 
Testament  and  chiefly  in  the  prophets  the  words 
"careless,"  "bold,"  "at  ease." 

The  words  "assurance,"  "sure,"  "safe,"  are 
found  forty-eight  times  in  the  Old  Testament  and 
the  words  "sure"  or  "assurance"  three  times  in 
the  New  Testament.  Nearly  all  of  these  are 
translations  of  the  Greek  adjective  which  is 
generally  rendered  "faithful"  and  in  its  verb  form 
is  rendered  most  frequently  "believe." 

The  words  "established,"  "set,"  "settle," 
"stability,"  "steady,"  occur  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment sixteen  times,  generally  in  translation  of  the 
same  word. 

Hope  and  Expectation.  The  faith-words  often 
express  hope  or  expectation  both  in  the  Old 
Testament  and  in  the  New  Testament.  The  word 
that  is  generally  rendered  "hope,"  elpis,  refers 
very  seldom  to  any  other  form  of  faith. 

Truth.  In  the  Old  Testament  the  faithfulness 
of  God  is  often  called  His  "truth" — and  twice  in 
the  New  Testament  He  is  called  "true"  and  faith- 
ful. This  does  not  include  the  passages  where  the 
truth  itself  is  spoken  of  as  "the  faith. " 

In  about  two-thirds  of  the  passages  of  Scripture 
that  speak  of  the  care  of  God  for  man  and  of  man's 
dependence  upon  God  the  simple  faith-word  is 
faith,  faithful,  believe,  or  trust. 


The  Words  of  Faith  25 

"Faithfulness"  covers  sincerity,  constancy,  and 
obedience  as  well  as  fidelity.  "Believing"  covers 
trusting  as  well  as  belief.  "Faith"  covers  all  of 
these  and  sometimes  stands  for  the  truth  itself, 
the  thing  believed  or  trusted. 

These  are  the  lines  that  form  the  picture  of  what 
man  is  to  God,  and  of  what  man  must  be,  if  he  would 
retain  God's  likeness  or  grow  more  like  Him. 
And  perhaps  in  dimmer  outline  (for  God  seems  far 
off  and  high  above  us)  they  give  us  the  only  image 
that  we  can  have  of  the  Creator  and  Father  of  all 
men. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  FAITHFULNESS  OF  GOD 

God  is  Faithful  in  His  World.     He  is  "  a  God  of 

truth"  and  without  iniquity  (i).  " His  faithful- 
ness" is  in  the  congregation  of  the  saints  (2). 
Who  is  a  strong  Lord  like  "Thy  faithfulness"?  (3). 
"Thy  faithfulness"  is  unto  all  generations  (4). 
It  reaches  unto  the  clouds  (5)  and  is  established 
in  the  very  heavens  (6). 

His  works  are  done  "in  truth"  (7).  His  testi- 
monies are  "very  faithful"  (8).  His  command- 
ments are  "faithful"  (9).  The  Lord  is  "righteous" 
in  all  His  ways  (10).  His  covenant  shall  "stand 
fast"  (n). 

It  is  a  good  thing  to  show  forth  Thy  loving- 
kindness  and  "Thy  faithfulness"  (12).  I  have 
declared  "Thy  faithfulness"  and  Thy  salvation, 
Thy  lovingkindness  and  "Thy  truth"  (13).  I 
will  make  known  "Thy  faithfulness"  (14). 

God  is  Faithful  in  His  Relations  to  Man.    He  is 

"the  faithful  God"  which  keepeth  covenant  and 

N.  B.— The  notes  of  passages  referred  to  by  number  are  found 
at  the  end  of  the  chapter. 

26 


The  Faithfulness  of  God  27 

mercy  (15).  "His  faithfulness"  and  His  mercy 
shall  be  with  His  servant  (16).  Kings  shall  rise 
up,  princes  shall  worship,  because  the  Lord  is 
"faithful"  and  He  shall  choose  thee  (17).  His 
lovingkindness  will  He  not  take  from  His  child, 
nor  suffer  "His  faithfulness"  to  fail  (18).  It  is  a 
good  thing  to  show  forth  His  lovingkindness  in  the 
morning  and  His  "faithfulness"  every  night  (19). 
His  "truth"  endures  to  all  generations  (20). 
In  "His  faithfulness"  He  answers  prayers  (21). 
He  has  done  wonderful  things;  His  counsels  of 
old  are  "faithfulness"  and  truth  (22).  He  has 
remembered  His  mercy  and  His  "truth"  toward 
the  house  of  Israel  (23) .  His  former  lovingkindness 
He  swore  unto  David  in  "His  truth"  (24).  The 
field  and  the  trees  rejoice  before  the  Lord,  for  He 
comes  to  judge  the  world  with  righteousness  and 
the  people  with  "His  truth"  (25). 

In  "faithfulness"  He  has  afflicted  us  (26).  It 
is  the  Lord's  mercy  that  we  are  not  consumed. 
His  "faithfulness"  is  great  (27).  He  will  not  be 
to  us  as  waters  "that  fail"  (28).  "His  faithful- 
ness "  will  not  be  made  known  in  destruction  (29). 

It  is  the  means  of  our  knowing  Him.  He  is 
betrothed  to  the  unfaithful  in  "faithfulness"  (30). 

"Faithful"  is  He  that  calleth,  who  also  will  do 
(31).  God  is  ' '  faithful ' '  by  whom  they  were  called 
into  the  fellowship  of  His  Son  (32).  The  Lord 
is  "faithful"  who  shall  establish  and  keep  from 
evil  (33).  He  is  "faithful"  that  promised  (34). 


28  The  Law  of  Faith 

Sarah  received  strength,  because  she  judged  Him 
"faithful."  He  had  promised  (35). 

God  is  "faithful. "  He  will  not  suffer  men  to  be 
tempted  above  what  they  are  able  (36).  Let  them 
that  suffer  commit  the  keeping  of  their  souls  to 
Him  as  unto  a  "faithful  Creator"  (37).  He  is 
"faithful"  and  just  to  forgive  our  sins  (38). 

What  if  some  did  not  believe?  Shall  their 
unbelief  make  "the  faith  of  God"  without 
effect?  (39).  If  we  believe  not,  yet  He  abideth 
"faithful."  He  cannot  deny  Himself  (40). 

God's  faithfulness  is  the  standard  for  man's 
truthfulness.  As  God  is  "true, "  our  word  toward 
you  was  not  yea  and  nay  (41).  And  He  is  the 
"faithful  witness"  between  prophet  and  peo- 
ple (42) — a  faithful  prophet  and  an  obedient 
people. 

In  the  passages  cited  above  and  in  other  passages 
and  phrases  taken,  as  cited  below,  from  near 
context,  it  is  declared  that: 

God  is  Faithful  and  True.  He  is  a  God  of 
truth  (43).  Mercy  and  truth  go  before  His  face 
(44) .  His  counsels  are  faithfulness  and  truth  (45) . 
He  cannot  contradict  Himself  (46).  His  word  is 
right  (47).  His  truth  is  made  known  to  men  (48). 
He  keeps  the  oath  which  he  has  sworn  (49) — and 
He  has  sworn  and  will  not  lie  (50).  He  cannot  be 
unto  us  as  a  liar  (51).  He  must  be  true,  though 
all  are  false  (52) .  His  promises  are  true  (53) .  His 


The  Faithfulness  of  God  29 

calling  is  true  (54).  He  will  establish  and  keep 
from  evil  (55) — and  preserve  blameless  (56). 

God  remembers  His  truth  (57).  It  is  displayed 
in  His  judgment  of  the  earth  (58) .  And  it  endures 
forever  (59).  God  is  true  and  therefore  the  word 
of  a  disciple  is  to  be  true  (60).  God  is  the  true 
witness  of  our  covenants  and  actions  (61). 

God  is    Faithful    and   Merciful.    He    is  our 

father  (62) — creator  (63) — deliverer  (64) — pre- 
server (65) — redeemer  (66) — His  faithfulness  is 
shown  in  His  lovingkindness  (67) — His  goodness 
(68) — His  salvation  (69). 

His  mercy  is  every  day  (70) — of  old  (71) — 
unfailing  (72) — and  everlasting  (73).  It  is 
tender  (74) — a  thing  of  grace  (75) — and  of 
covenant  (76). 

It  is  not  hidden  (77),  but  seen  by  all  men  (78)— 
near  to  those  that  call  (79)  but  reaching  unto 
heaven  (80) — making  God  known  to  men  as  their 
betrothed  (81) — hearing  their  call  (82),  and  making 
them  hear  (83) — not  manifest  in  the  grave  (84)? 
but  uplifting  (85),  life-giving  (86),  and  quickening 

(87). 

God's  faithfulness  is  shown  in  forgiving  and 
cleansing  (88) — in  keeping  the  soul  (89)  and  keep- 
ing it  blameless  (90)  and  safe  from  overwhelming 
temptation  (91).  It  is  shown  in  counsel  (92) — • 
and  comfort  (93)  and  help  (94) — and  refuge  (95). 
God  is  our  rock  (96) — and  our  shield  (97).  In  His 


30  The  Law  of  Faith 

faithfulness  He  spreads  before  us  and  around  us  the 
shadow  of  His  wings  (98) — the  fatness  of  His 
house  (99) — the  river  of  His  pleasures  (100) — 
the  fountain  of  life  (101) — and  the  way  wherein  to 
walk  (102). 

God  is  Faithful  and  Just.  He  is  upright  with  no 
unrighteousness  in  Him  (103).  He  loves  right- 
eousness and  judgment  (104).  His  ways  are 
just  (105).  He  is  just  and  right  (106).  He  is 
faithful,  although  Israel  is  unfaithful  (107).  His 
judgments  are  just  (108) — and  right  (109) — • 
against  His  people  (i  10) —  and  against  His  enemies 
(in) — and  theirs  (112) — against  the  wicked  (113). 
He  renders  justice  to  the  poor  (114).  He  avenges 
those  that  are  persecuted  (115).  He  is  a  strength 
to  the  poor  (i  16).  He  is  forgiving  to  the  penitent 
(117).  His  justice  is  like  the  deep  sea  (118) — 
and  the  great  mountains  (119).  It  is  seen  by  men 
(120) — and  remembered  (121). 

God  is  Faithful  and  Stedfast.     God  is  the  Rock 

(122),  unlike  the  gods  of  the  heathen  (123). 

His  purposes  are  of  old  (124) — His  mercies  new 
every  morning  (125).  His  thoughts  for  us  are 
many  (126) — His  care  continual  (127). 

His  covenant  stands  fast  (128)— His  word  is 
not  yea  and  nay  (129).  His  love  (130)  and  His 
compassion  (131)  are  unfailing.  He  has  estab- 
lished the  earth  (132).  He  will  establish  David's 


The  Faithfulness  of  God  31 

seed  (133).  He  has  settled  in  heaven  itself  His 
word  (134) — and  His  mercy  (135) — and  provided 
a  Redeemer  and  a  covenant  to  establish  the  earth 
(136).  And  the  Redeemer  will  establish  and  keep 
his  people  (137) — and  Christ  abides  faithful  (138). 
God's  righteousness  (139) — and  His  mercy  (140) 
are  everlasting.  His  kingdom  is  everlasting  (141). 
He  is  exalted  forever  (142)  and  forever  betrothed 
to  us  (143).  His  counsel  (144)  and  His  mercies 
(145)  endure  forever.  His  truth  (146),  His 
dominion  (147),  His  thoughts  toward  us  (148), 
and  His  faithfulness  (149)  endure  to  all  generations. 
He  preserves  the  seed  of  David  forever  (150). 
He  preserves  the  disciples  unto  the  coming  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  (151). 

Christ  is  Faithful.  Faithfulness  is  the  girdle 
of  the  Messiah's  reins  (152).  And  Christ  is  faith- 
ful judge  (153) — and  captain  (154) — and  witness 
(155) — the  faithful  Son  over  His  own  house  (156). 
Christ  is  faithful  and  true  (157) — the  faithful 
witness  by  resurrection  from  death  (158) — the 
Amen  (159). 

Faith  of  God — of  Christ.     In  about  a  dozen 

passages  in  the  Greek  New  Testament  the  faith 
is  called  a  Faith  of  God  or  Christ.  The  Lord  has 
been  assumed  in  the  English  versions  to  be  the  ob- 
ject of  the  faith,  and  it  has  been  translated  or 
expounded  as  faith  in  Him,  a  common  expression 


32  The  Law  of  Faith 

in  other  passages.  The  Vulgate  translation  follows 
the  Greek  text  more  strictly,  using  like  it  in  these 
passages  (and  only  in  these  passages)  the  same  ob- 
jective case,  which  would  rather  indicate  the  per- 
son whose  faith  is  spoken  of  than  the  one  who  is 
its  object.  As  in  other  cases  of  doubtful  con- 
struction, they  are  cited  not  only  here,  but  in  other 
chapters,  where  they  would  belong  by  another 
construction. 

In  one  of  these  passages  (160)  the  words  of 
Christ  to  Peter,  "have  faith  in  God,"  can  hardly 
be  understood  except  as  referring  to  the  man's 
trust  in  God. 

Another  passage,  as  to  the  keeping  of  the  com- 
mandments and  of  the  faith  of  Jesus  (161)  by  the 
waiting  saints,  relates  perhaps  to  their  belief 
received  from  Him,  or  to  what  they  believed  about 
Him.  It  may  relate  to  their  own  Christlike 
faithfulness. 

Another,  as  to  the  influence  of  the  faith  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  (162)  upon  our  own  conduct 
toward  the  poor,  does  not  seem  to  be  our  trust  in 
Christ  or  our  belief,  but  His  faithfulness  and  our 
holding  to  that  and  partaking  of  it  in  our  own 
Christian  character  and  faithfulness.  The  whole 
chapter  seems  to  show  that  a  believer  cannot  choose 
his  own  form  of  faith  and  deliberately  reject  other 
and  vital  forms.  He  cannot  glory  in  his  belief 
or  claim  that  he  trusts  God  and  leave  faithfulness 
in  works  to  others. 


The  Faithfulness  of  God  33 

In  one  other  passage,  our  unfaithfulness  making 
the  faith  of  God  (163)  of  no  effect,  the  words  can 
hardly  be  understood  except  as  referring  to  God's 
faithfulness,  although  in  many  other  cases  in  the 
same  chapter  (where  faith  is  contrasted  with  law 
and  no  object  of  faith  named)  the  faith  seems  rather 
to  mean  trust  in  God  or  in  Christ. 

In  three  other  passages — Christ  healing  "  through 
faith  in  His  name"  (164) — access  by  "the  faith  of 
Him"  (165) — the  gift  of  the  promise  "by  faith 
of  Jesus  Christ "  (166) — the  words  and  the  thought 
seem  to  point  to  the  faithfulness  of  Christ  and  His 
obedience  and  less  clearly  to  our  trust  in  Him, 
although  His  faithfulness  is  made  available  by  our 
faith  in  Him. 

The  rest  of  the  passages  speak  of  God's  right- 
eousness which  is  by  faith  of  Jesus  Christ  (167) 
and  through  faith  of  Christ  (168) — life  by  the  faith 
of  the  Son  of  God  (169) — justification  by  the  faith 
of  Christ,  by  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ  (170) — 
and  justification  of  him  that  believeth  in  Jesus, 
or  literally,  who  is  by  the  faith  of  Jesus  (171). 
All  of  these  may  reasonably,  and  in  strict  adherence 
to  the  language  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  versions, 
refer  to  Christ's  faithfulness  and  obedience,  by 
which  righteousness  and  life  come  to  men,  and 
only  incidentally  (and  not  in  words)  to  the  faith 
of  the  man  which  rests  on  that  faithfulness  of 
Christ.  The  last  of  these  passages  presents  in  a 
sequence  the  Righteous  One  making  righteous — 


34  The  Law  of  Faith 

with  His  own  righteousness — the  man  who  by 
faith  begins  to  be  His  and  to  share  in  that 
righteousness. 

Faith  is  said  in  the  Scriptures  to  be  an  element 
in  the  character  of  God.  He  is  faithful  in  what  He 
says  and  does.  His  declarations  are  true.  His 
promise  and  His  warnings  are  sure  to  come  true. 
And  the  words  "truth"  and  "true"  are  used  for 
God's  faithfulness:  once  in  English  in  the  New 
Testament  (172)  and  once  in  Deuteronomy  and 
several  times  in  the  Psalms ;  and  with  more  variety 
and  frequency,  in  the  Latin  and  Greek  versions  of 
the  Psalms. 

In  the  English  Bible,  as  in  common  speech,  the 
word  "faithfulness "  comes  to  mean  truth  and  more 
—and  to  express  the  trustworthiness  of  God, 
because  He  is  true  in  word,  merciful  in  action, 
just  in  judgment,  and  stedfast  in  all  things — • 
faithful  in  His  inmost  nature  as  well  as  in  His 
visible  relation  to  men  and  things.  It  is  the 
attitude  and  the  active  relation  of  God  toward 
man  and  toward  the  whole  world  of  facts.  In 
general,  it  is  His  trustworthiness — in  other  pas- 
sages, His  stedfastness  or  His  trustfulness — that 
is  spoken  of. 

The  faith  of  God  seems  to  cover  His  relation  to 
all  that  is  not  God.  In  some  of  these  relations  He 
has  shown  Himself  to  men  and  it  is  only  in  such 
relations  to  us  and  to  others,  and  to  the  world  we 


The  Faithfulness  of  God  35 

know,  that  we  can  claim  to  have  a  knowledge  of 
Him.  In  these  relations  we  can  conceive  of  a 
Creator's  and  a  Father's  joy  and  glory,  and  of  His 
faith  and  love.  With  expectation,  confidence, 
sincerity,  fairness,  wisdom,  love,  the  Creator  looks 
on  what  His  mind  has  planned  and  His  hands  have 
fashioned.  And  so  the  Father  looks  on  His 
helpless  child,  that  is  to  become  in  some  new 
fashion  like  Himself. 

The  Scriptures  generally  speak  of  the  faith  of 
God  as  His  faithfulness — and  call  Him  faithful 
in  the  sense  that  He  is  true  and  stedfast,  that  He 
is  trustworthy.  The  idea  that  God  is  trustful 
as  well  as  trustworthy  is  not  absent  from  the 
Scriptures,  although  it  is  not  generally  expressed 
by  ordinary  faith-words.  Many  words  of  Scrip- 
ture declare  Him  to  be  Creator  and  Ruler  and 
Judge  of  all  the  earth — to  have  made  man  in  His 
own  image — to  have  given  him  an  authority  and 
control  over  the  world — to  have  chosen  men  for 
His  work — to  have  entrusted  to  men  the  care  of 
their  fellows  and  His  own  gospel  and  His  Son. 
These  words  imply,  and  reason  teaches,  that  God 
entrusts  and  expects  and  looks  forward  with  more 
than  human  confidence. 

To  these  teachings  of  the  Scriptures  human 
experience  has  added  some  particular  knowledge 
of  great  material  and  vital  and  economic  laws, 
which  guide  and  facilitate  man's  execution  of 
God's  trust.  By  them  man's  powers  are  enlarged 


36  The  Law  of  Faith 

and  multiplied.  And  by  them  man  is  controlled 
and  in  many  ways  taught  faith's  great  lessons; 
his  own  dependence  upon  others,  his  subjection 
to  forces  that  lie  outside  of  his  control,  and  the 
natural  and  necessary  obedience  of  the  reason 
and  the  will. 

These  material  laws  enhance  the  value  of  that 
great  Trust  of  God — the  dominion  of  the  earth — 
of  which  He  has  made  His  child  and  creature  the 
Trustee. 

Such  gods  as  man  makes  for  himself  resemble 
and  outmeasure  man  in  his  worst  traits  as  well  as 
in  his  best.  But  in  the  Jehovah  of  the  Bible  man 
sees  only  his  own  Best,  infinitely  better.  And  the 
Scriptures  teach  us  to  recognise  in  our  best  traits 
the  gifts  and  the  traits  of  a  Divine  Father.  If 
faith  is  not  itself  the  Best  in  man,  it  is  found  con- 
stantly in  close  scriptural  and  natural  relation  to 
all  that  we  call  best  in  human  life  and  conduct. 

Man  is  made  in  God's  image.  Man's  faith  is 
in  its  nature,  as  in  name,  like  that  of  God.  Faith 
is  God's  relation  to  the  things  that  He  has  made. 
Faith  is  man's  attitude  and  man's  active  relation 
toward  God  and  toward  man's  world  of  facts,  its 
living  creatures,  its  material  substance,  and  its 
laws.  The  forms  of  human  faith — our  fidelity,  our 
truthfulness,  our  trust,  our  hope,  our  belief — are 
all  related  to  one  another  in  language  and  in  fact. 
They  cover  all  the  various  phases  of  human  life  in 
man's  relation  to  things  and  persons  and  to  Him 


The  Faithfulness  of  God  37 

who  is  above  all — however  that  human  life  may 
differ  from  the  life  of  One  who  knows  no  doubt,  no 
fear  of  the  unseen  future,  no  dependence  on  others, 
and  no  duty  toward  master  or  equal — the  only 
One,  whose  beliefs  are  perfect  knowledge,  whose 
confidence  is  reality  and  "substance." 

The  ancient  philosophies  and  beliefs  were  unwil- 
ling to  conceive  a  God  subject  to  law.  They  lost 
sight  of  God's  holiness  in  their  contemplation  of 
His  power.  The  Almighty  must  be  without  law 
and  above  law,  and  He  might  be  against  law.  A 
nature  of  unchangeable  holiness  was  no  part  of 
their  vision  of  God ;  and  the  gods  of  their  world 
became  gods  of  diverse  powers  and  passions,  antag- 
onising each  other,  befriending  their  favourites, 
unjust,  unmerciful,  and  implacable.  "The  gods" 
were  not  faithful,  and  men  lost  faith  in  them. 

God  must  be  faithful.  That  is  His  nature,  His 
strength,  the  girdle  of  His  reins.  There  is  an 
intuition  in  the  spirit  of  man  about  the  spirit  of 
God  his  father.  It  presents  itself  to  him  not  as 
God's  arbitrary  choice  of  what  is  ethically  beauti- 
fully— not  as  His  habit  or  course  of  action  that  may 
change — not  as  a  policy  adopted  for  its  govern- 
mental usefulness — but  as  a  necessary  and  ele- 
mental part  of  the  Divine  nature.  A  God  without 
it  is  unthinkable.  For  in  man's  thoughts  an 
unfaithful  god  soon  ceases  to  be  his  God. 

We  call  justice  and  mercy  and  faithfulness  God's 
will — as  we  call  the  laws  of  nature  His  laws.  In 


38  The  Law  of  Faith 

material  created  things  the  Creator's  law  is  the 
character  of  matter — the  manner  of  the  execution 
of  His  purpose.  But  in  the  world  of  spirits,  in 
which  man  belongs,  there  seems  to  be  a  moral 
authority  and  necessity,  which  antedate  and  reach 
beyond  the  creature  and  are  not  created  with  him. 
They  are  the*  Creator's  method  for  spiritual 
life.  These  things  are  "laws"  of  God's  being  too. 
We  call  them  His  will,  because  they  are  His  will 
for  us.  And  they  are  His  will  for  us  His  children 
because  they  are  His  own  nature.  We  recognise 
their  goodness ;  and  we  call  them  right  and  godly — • 
for  they  seem  to  come  to  us  from  God  with  the 
spirit  He  has  put  into  us.  As  to  Him  then  we 
speak  of  laws  of  highest  authority,  but  no  law- 
giver. God  is  not  under  the  law  of  truth;  He 
is  the  truth  itself.  His  nature  is  the  spirit's  law. 
Man  can  only  dream  in  reverence  and  wonder 
about  what  is  perfect  goodness,  absolute  right,  in 
God's  highest  realms.  But  men  believe  univers- 
ally and  positively  that  there  is  unchangeable  and 
real  antagonism  between  Right  and  Wrong,  not 
made  less  real  by  men's  long  and  wayward  grop- 
ings.  And  just  so  necessarily  and  surely  we  believe 
that  this  reality  outreaches  all  temporary  and 
changing  conditions  and  customs,  and  that  there 
is  an  eternal  Right,  which  is  a  law  unto  God 
Himself,  the  Law  and  the  Will  of  the  Unchanging 
One.  That  law  is  dominant  in  all  our  knowledge 
or  thought  of  God.  It  is  approved  by  our  highest 


The  Faithfulness  of  God  39 

reason.  It  is  contradicted  by  no  human  facts. 
Between  that  Law  and  that  Will  we  cannot  imagine 
antagonism.  And  as  on  earth  man's  obligation 
increases  with  his  exaltation,  with  his  nobility,  so 
man  cannot  but  think  that  in  the  exaltation  of  the 
Most  High  there  is  perfect  unbroken  law  and  no 
lines  of  separation  between  the  Divine  right  and 
law  and  will  and  faithfulness. 

To  God,  as  to  us,  "faith  is  the  substance  of 
things  hoped  for,  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen. " 
In  His  faithfulness  He  knows  and  entrusts  and 
sustains  and  reveals  and  waits.  In  our  faith 
we  "see  darkly,"  but  aspire  to  clearer  visions;  we 
rest  in  hope,  we  press  forward  in  confidence,  we 
labour  faithfully.  Man's  faith  may  well  rest  on  the 
faithfulness  of  God,  and  find  its  ideal  there.  There 
it  gathers  its  force  and  becomes  the  chief  impulse  of 
human  life.  There  man  finds  the  secret  spring  of 
his  own  spiritual  life  and  the  convincing  evidence 
of  his  own  divine  origin  and  nature  and  destiny. 

NOTES 

i.  Deut.  32:4 — 2.  Ps.  89:5 — 3.  Ps.  89:8 — 4.  Ps.  119: 
90 — 5.  Ps.  36:5 — 6.  Ps.  89:2—7.  Ps.  33:4 — 8.  Ps.  119: 

138 9.     Ps.  119:86 IO.     PS.  145:  17 II.     Ps.    89:28 — 12.      Ps. 

92:2 — 13.  Ps.  40:  10 — 14.  Ps.  89:  i — 15.  Deut.  7:9 — 16.  Ps. 
89:  24 — 17.  Is.  49:  7 — 1 8.  Ps.  89:  33 — 19.  Ps.  92:  2 — 20.  Ps.  100 : 

5—21.      PS.       I43:i — 22.       Is.      25:1 — 23.       PS.      98:3 — 24.       PS. 

89:49 — 25.  Ps.  96:13 — 26.  Ps.  11:75 — 27-  Lam.  3:23— 
28.  Jer.  15: 18—29.  Ps.  88:11—30.  Hos.  2:20— 31.  i  Thess. 


40  The  Law  of  Faith 

5:24—32.  i  Cor.  i:9—33-  2  Thess.  3:3—34-  Heb.  10: 
23 — 35-  Heb.  11:11—36.  i  Cor.  10:13—37.  i  Pet.  4:19 
— 38.  i  John  1:9 — 39.  Rom.  3:3—40.  2  Tim.  2:13—41. 
2  Cor.  i:  18—42.  Jer.  42:  5—43.  Deut.  32:  4— 44.  Ps.  89: 14 
—45.  Is.  25:1—46.  2  Tim.  2:13—47.  Ps.  33:4—48.  Ps. 
40:10—49.  Ps.  7:8— 50.  Ps.  89:35,  49— 51.  Jer.  15:18— 52. 
Rom.  3:4—53.  Heb.  10:23;  u:  " — 54-  i  Cor.  1:9;  i  Thess. 
5:  24—55.  2  Thess.  3:  3—56.  i  Thess.  5:  23—57.  Ps.  98:  3— 
58.  Ps.  96: 13—59.  PS-  100:  5 — 60.  2  Cor.  i:  18 — 61.  Jer.  42: 
5 — 62.  Ps.  89:26 — 63.  i  Pet.  4:19 — 64.  Ps.  33:10;  143:9; 
Jer.  15:21 — 65.  Ps.  36:6;  Is.  49:8 — 66.  Is.  49:7;  Jer.  15:21 
—67.  Ps.  36:  7;  40:  10;  92:  2;  119:  88;  143:  8—68.  Ps.  35:  5— 
69.  Ps.  40:10;  89:26;  98:3;  Is.  49:8—70.  Ps.  92:2;  98:3; 
145:8;  Lam.  3:23— 71.  Ps.  89:49— 72.  Lam.  3:22— 73.  Ps. 
89:2,28;  100:5 — 74.  Ps.  119:77 — 75.  Ps.  145:8 — 76.  Deut. 
7:9 — 77.  Ps.  40:10 — 78.  Ps.  98:3 — 79.  Ps.  145:18—80. 
Ps.  36:5—81.  Hos.  2:20 — 82.  Ps.  143:1;  Is.  49:8—83.  Ps. 
143:8 — 84.  Ps.  88: 1 1 — 85.  Ps.  89:  24 — 86.  Ps.  119:  77— 87. 
Ps.  119:88 — 88  i  John  1:9 — 89.  i  Pet.  4:19 — 90.  i  Thess. 
5:23—91.  i  Cor.  10:13— 92.  Ps.  33:11;  Is.  25:  i— 93.  Ps. 
119:76—94.  Ps.  33:20;  Is.  49:8— 95.  13.25:4—96.  Ps.  89: 
26592:15 — 97.  Ps.  33:20 — 98.  Ps.  36:7;  Is.  25:4 — 99.  Ps. 
36:8 — 100.  Ps.  36:8 — 101.  Ps.  36:9 — 102.  Ps.  143:8 — 103. 
Ps.  92:15— 104.  Ps.  33:5—105.  Deut.  32:4;  Ps.  145:17— 
106.  Deut.  32:4 — 107.  Rom.  3:3 — 108.  Ps.  96:13;  Hos.  2: 
19;  Rev.  19:11 — 109.  Ps.  119:75 — no.  Ps.  89:32;  119:75 
— in.  Deut.  7:9;  Ps.  89:10 — 112.  Ps.  89:23;  143:12;  Is. 
25:2 — 113.  Ps.  92:7;  145:20 — 114.  Is.  11:4 — 115.  Jer.  15. 
15 — 116.  Is.  25:4 — 117.  I  John  1:9 — 118.  Ps.  36:6 — 119. 
Ps.  36:6 — 120.  Ps.  40:3 — 121.  Ps.  88:12—122.  Deut.  32: 
4,15,18,31—123.  Deut.  32:37— 124.  15.25:1—125.  Lam. 
3:23—126.  Ps.  4:5— 127.  Ps.  40:11— 128.  Ps.  89:28— 129. 


The  Faithfulness  of  God  41 

2  Cor.  1:18 — 130.  Ps.  89:33 — 131.  Lam.  3:22 — 132.  Ps. 
119:  90—133.  Ps.  89:4 — 134.  Ps.  119:  89 — 135.  Ps.  89:  2 — 
136.  Is.  49:  8—137.  2  Thess.  3:  3—138.  2  Tim.  2:  13—139. 
Ps.  119:  142,  144—140.  Ps.  100:  5—141.  Ps.  145:  13 — 142. 
Ps.  92:  8 — 143.  Hos.  2:  19 — 144.  Ps.  33:  II — 145.  Ps.  89:  2, 
28—146.  Ps.  100 :  5 — 147.  Ps.  145:  13— 148.  Ps.  33:11 — 149. 
Ps.  89:  i — 150.  Ps.  89:  4 — 151.  i  Thess.  5:  23 — 152.  Is.  u: 
5—153.  Rev.  19:  ii— 154.  Rev.  19:  ii— 155.  Rev.  1:553: 
14 — 156.  Heb.  3:6— 157.  Rev.  19:  ii — 158.  Rev.  1:5 — 159. 
Rev. 3:14 — 160.  Mark  11:22 — 161.  Rev.  14:12 — 162.  James 
2:  i — 163.  Rom.  3:3 — 164.  Acts  3:  16 — 165.  Eph.  3:  12 — 
166.  Gal.  3:22 — 167.  Rom.  3:  22— 1 68.  Phil.  3:  9 — 169.  Gal. 
2:20 — 170.  Gal.  2:16 — 171.  Rom.  3:26 — 172.  2  Cor.  i:  18. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  FAITHFULNESS  OF  MAN 

His  Truthfulness.  Isaiah  took  unto  him  ' '  faith- 
ful" witnesses  to  record  the  story  of  the  prophet's 
son  (i).  The  prophet  that  has  a  dream,  let 
him  tell  a  dream  and  let  him  speak  my  word 
"  faithfully"  (2).  A  "true"  witness  delivers 
souls,  but  a  deceitful  witness  speaks  lies  (3).  My 
covenant  shall  be  established  forever  as  the  moon 
and  as  a  "faithful"  witness  in  heaven  (4).  A 
"faithful"  witness  will  not  lie  (5).  "Faithful" 
are  the  wounds  of  a  friend,  but  the  kisses  of 
an  enemy  are  deceitful  (6). 

There  is  no  "faithfulness"  in  a  flatterer's 
mouth  (7).  The  godly  man  ceases,  the  "faithful" 
fail  from  among  men  (8).  Most  men  will  proclaim 
every  one  his  own  goodness,  but  a  "faithful"  man 
who  can  find?  (9).  The  deceived  and  the  deceiver 
are  God's.  He  removes  the  speech  of  the  ' '  trusty ' ' 
(10).  I  have  chosen  the  way  of  "truth"  (n). 

N.  B. — The  notes  of  passages  referred  to  by  number  are  found 
at  the  end  of  the  chapter. 

42 


The  Faithfulness  of  Man  43 

His  Fidelity.     (A)  In  Character  and  Office.    All 

these,  chosen  to  be  porters,  were  ordained  in  their 
"set  office"  (12).  The  chief  porters  were  in  their 
"set  office"  over  the  chambers  and  treasuries  of 
the  house  of  God  (13).  One  of  the  Levites  had  the 
"set  office "  over  the  things  that  were  made  in  pans 
(14).  Others,  in  the  cities  of  the  priests,  were  in 
their  "set  office"  to  give  to  their  brethren  by 
courses  (15).  In  their  "set  office"  they  sanctified 
themselves  (16). 

Ahimelech  said  to  Saul,  Who  is  so  "faithful" 
among  all  thy  servants  as  David?  (17).  The  wo- 
man said,  I  am  one  of  them  that  are  peaceful 
and  ' '  faithful '  *  in  Israel  ( 1 8) .  Jehoshaphat  charged 
the  Levites  to  act  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  "faith- 
fully" and  with  a  perfect  heart  (19).  They 
brought  in  the  offerings  "faithfully"  (20).  The 
men  did  the  work  "faithfully"  (21).  The  saints 
which  are  at  Ephesus  and  the  "faithful"  in  Christ 
Jesus  (22).  The  saints  and  "faithful"  brethren 
in  Christ,  which  are  at  Colosse  (23).  "Our  faith" 
in  Christ  Jesus  (24).  Beloved,  thou  doest  "faith- 
fully" whatever  thou  doest  (25).  Silvanus,  a 
"faithful"  brother  (26).  Timotheus,  my  beloved 
son,  and  "faithful"  in  the  Lord  (27).  I  thank 
Christ  Jesus  our  Lord  for  that  He  counted  me 
"faithful"  (28).  Paul  wrote  often  to  the  Thes- 
salonians  concerning  "their  faith"  (29).  So,  to 
Timothy  as  to  continuing  in  "faith"  (30).  Tychi- 
cus  was  a  beloved  brother  and  a  "  faithful  "minis- 


44  The  Law  of  Faith 

ter  (31).  Onesimus,  a  " faithful"  and  beloved 
brother  (32).  Epaphras,  a  " faithful"  minister  of 
Christ  (33).  Elders  having  " faithful"  children 
were  to  be  ordained  (34).  It  is  required  in 
stewards,  that  a  man  be  found  "faithful"  (35). 
Likewise  must  the  deacons  be  grave  and  their 
wives  "faithful"  in  all  things  (36). 

In  all  things  it  behoved  Christ  to  be  made  like 
unto  His  brethren,  that  He  might  be  a  merciful 
and  "faithful"  high  priest  (37).  He  was  the 
Apostle  and  High  Priest  of  our  profession,  "faith- 
ful" to  Him  that  appointed  Him  (38).  Moses  was 
"faithful"  in  all  his  house  as  a  servant,  but  Christ 
as  a  Son  over  His  own  house  (39). 

Ahaz  reigned  in  Jerusalem  and  did  not  that 
which  was  "right"  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  (40). 
How  is  the  "faithful"  city  become  an  harlot! 
Righteousness  lodged  in  it,  but  now  murderers  (41). 
Justice  shall  be  restored  and  it  shall  be  called  the 
city  of  righteousness,  the  "Faithful"  City  (42). 

(B)  In  his  Relation  to  God.  Moses  is  "  faithful " 
in  all  mine  house;  with  him  will  I  speak  mouth 
to  mouth,  even  apparently,  and  not  in  dark 
speeches  (43).  I  will  raise  me  up  a  "faithful" 
priest  and  build  him  a  sure  house  (44).  And 
David  said  The  Lord  render  to  every  man  his 
righteousness  and  his  "faithfulness"  (45).  The 
God  who  chose  Abraham  and  found  his  heart 
"faithful"  and  made  a  covenant  with  him  (46). 


The  Faithfulness  of  Man  45 

A  "faithful"  man  shall  abound  with  blessings 
(47).  Judah  ruleth  with  God  and  is  "faithful" 
with  the  saints  (48).  Oh,  love  the  Lord  all  ye  His 
saints,  for  the  Lord  preserveth  the  "faithful"  (49). 
The  King  that  "faithfully"  judges  the  poor,  his 
throne  shall  be  established  forever  (50). 

What  if  some  did  not  "believe"?  Shall  their 
"unbelief"  make  the  faith  of  God  without  effect 
(51).  God  hides  His  face  from  the  "fro ward" 
generation  of  children  without ' '  faith  "  (52) .  Their 
heart  was  not  right  with  Him,  neither  were  they 
"stedfast"  in  His  covenant  (53).  They  turned 
back  and  dealt  "unfaithfully"  like  their  fathers 
(54).  He  appointed  a  law  in  Israel,  that  the 
generation  to  come  might  not  be  as  their  fathers, 
a  generation  whose  spirit  was  not  "stedfast"  with 
God  (55). 

He  is  Lord  of  lords  and  King  of  kings  and  they 
that  are  with  Him  are  called  and  "faithful"  (56). 
Paul  called  himself  one  that  had  obtained  mercy 
to  be  "faithful"  (57).  This  was  perhaps  in  the 
sense  of  constancy  or  self-control.  Servants  were 
exhorted  to  be  obedient  to  their  masters,  showing 
all  good  "fidelity"  (58). 

The  number  of  the  disciples  multiplied  in  Jeru- 
salem greatly ;  and  a  great  company  of  the  priests 
were  "obedient  to  the  faith"  (59).  The  Son  of 
God,  by  whom  we  have  received  grace  and  apostle- 
ship  for  "obedience  to  the  faith"  (60).  The 
revelation  of  the  mystery,  now  made  known  to  all 


46  The  Law  of  Faith 

nations  for  the  "obedience  of  faith"  (61).  If  we 
"believe"  not,  yet  He  abideth  "faithful."  He 
cannot  deny  Himself  (62.) 

Antipas,  my  "faithful"  martyr,  who  was  slain 
among  you  (63.)  Be  thou  "faithful"  unto  death 
and  I  will  give  thee  a  crown  of  life  (64).  I  have 
finished  my  course;  I  have  kept  "the  faith"; 
henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of 
righteousness  (65.) 

(C)  In  his  Relation  to  Men.  Mine  eyes  shall 
be  upon  the  "faithful"  of  the  land  that  they  may 
dwell  with  me  (66).  The  presidents  and  princes 
sought  to  find  occasion  against  Daniel,  but  they 
could  find  none,  because  he  was  "faithful"  (67). 
The  king's  scribe  and  the  high  priest  reckoned  not 
with  the  men,  for  they  dealt  "faithfully"  (68). 
Nehemiah  gave  Hanani  charge  over  Jerusalem  for 
he  was  a  "faithful"  man  and  feared  God  above 
many  (69).  He  made  treasurers,  for  they  were 
counted  "faithful"  (70). 

A  "faithful"  ambassador  is  health  (71).  As 
the  cold  of  snow  in  the  time  of  harvest,  so  is  a 
"faithful"  messenger  to  them  that  send  him  (72). 
Confidence  in  an  "unfaithful"  man  in  time  of 
trouble  is  like  a  broken  tooth  and  a  foot  out  of 
joint  (73).  The  "righteous"  shall  hold  on  his 
way,  stronger  and  stronger  (74).  A  tale-bearer 
reveals  secrets,  but  he  that  is  of  a  "faithful"  spirit 
conceals  the  matter  (75). 


The  Faithfulness  of  Man  47 

Your  "faith  "  is  spoken  of  throughout  the  whole 
world  (76).  Your  growing  "faith"  is  the  glory 
of  the  churches  (77).  Lydia  besought  Paul  and 
Silas,  if  they  had  judged  her  to  be  "faithful"  to 
the  Lord,  to  come  into  her  house  and  abide  (78). 
Christ  prayed  that  Peter's  "faith"  fail  not  and 
that  he  might  strengthen  the  brethren  (79). 
Paul  was  comforted  by  the  "faith"  of  the  Thes- 
salonians  (80).  The  things  that  Timothy  heard 
he  was  to  commit  to  "faithful"  men,  who  should 
be  able  to  teach  others  (81). 

He  that  is  "faithful"  in  that  which  is  least  is 
"faithful"  also  in  much  (82).  "Faithful"  in 
common  things — in  true  riches.  "Faithful"  in 
that  which  is  another  man's — in  that  which  is  your 
own  (83).  Good  and  "faithful"  servant— " faith- 
ful" over  a  few  things  (84)— "faithful"  in  a  little 
(85)— "faithful"  and  wise  servant  (86).  If  un- 
faithful, his  portion  will  be  with  the  "unbelievers" 
(87).  "The  faith  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ"  must 
be  without  respect  of  persons  (88.)  The  saints 
keep  "the  faith  of  Jesus"  (89). 

In  nearly  all  of  these  passages  faithfulness 
between  men  is  a  faithfulness  toward  God. 

His  Obedience.  Peter  and  the  other  apostles 
answered  and  said,  We  ought  to  "obey"  God 
rather  than  men  (90).  God  gave  the  Holy  Ghost 
to  them  that  "obey"  Him  (91).  Paul  was  not 
"disobedient"  to  the  heavenly  vision  (92).  He 


48  The  Law  of  Faith 

prayed  to  be  delivered  from  them  that  do  not 
"  believe "  (93).  Men  shall  be  "  disobedient  "to 
parents  (94).  They  should  "obey"  magistrates 
(95).  "Obey"  them  that  have  the  rule  over  you 
(96).  The  tongue  shall  be  governed  as  we  put  bits 
in  the  horses'  mouths  that  they  may  "obey"  (97). 
Faith 's  obedience  has  been  already  spoken  of  (98) 
as  "faithfulness"  toward  God. 

Who  had  hindered  the  Gentiles  or  bewitched 
them  that  they  should  not  "obey"  the  truth?  (99) 
Teach  me  good  judgment  and  knowledge,  for 
I  have  "believed"  thy  commandments  (100). 
Because  the  people  had  not  "heard"  the  Lord's 
words,  He  would  destroy  them  (101).  He  that  "be- 
lieveth"  not  the  Son,  shall  not  see  life,  but  the 
wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him  (102).  Unto  them 
that  do  not  "obey"  the  truth,  but  "obey" 
unrighteousness,  indignation,  and  wrath  come 
(103).  The  children  of  Israel  were  forty  years  in 
the  wilderness,  because  they  "obeyed  not"  the 
voice  of  the  Lord  (104).  They  had  "trespassed 
against"  the  Lord  (105),  and  Moses  called  them 
"rebels"  at  Meribah  (106).  The  spirits  in  prison 
had  been  "disobedient,"  when  the  longsufTering 
of  God  waited  in  the  days  of  Noah  (107).  All  day 
long  God  stretched  forth  His  hands  unto  a  "dis- 
obedient" people  (108) — a  "rebellious"  people 
(109).  Rahab  perished  not  with  them  that 
"believed"  not  (no).  Men  were  warned  against 
an  evil  heart  of  "unbelief"  in  departing  from  God 


The  Faithfulness  of  Man  49 

(in).  God  swore  that  they  that  "believed"  not 
should  not  enter  into  His  rest.  They  could  not 
enter  in  because  of  "unbelief"  (112).  Letuslabour 
to  enter,  lest  any  fall  after  their  example  of 
"unbelief"  (113). 

"Obey"  the  voice  of  God's  messenger,  for  He 
will  not  pardon  your  transgressions  (114).  John 
was  to  go  before  the  Lord  to  turn  the  hearts  of  the 
"disobedient"  to  the  wisdom  of  the  just,  to  make 
ready  a  people  prepared  for  the  Lord  (115). 

When  many  were  hardened  and  "believed"  not, 
Paul  departed  from  them  and  separated  the  dis- 
ciples (116).  Unto  them  which  were  "disobe- 
dient" the  stone  which  the  builders  rejected  was 
made  a  stone  of  stumbling,  and  a  rock  of  offence 
to  them  which  stumble  at  the  word  being  "dis- 
obedient" (117).  Men  who  profess  to  know  God 
but  in  works  deny  Him  are  "disobedient"  and 
reprobate  (118).  We  were  once  "disobedient," 
deceived,  hateful,  and  hating  (119).  The  Gentiles 
once  did  not  "believe,"  yet  obtained  mercy 
through  Israel's  "unbelief."  So  Israel  has  not 
"believed,"  that  through  the  Gentiles'  mercy 
they  may  obtain  mercy.  God  concluded  all  in 
"unbelief"  that  He  might  have  mercy  on  all  (120). 
And  men  who  "obey"  not  the  word  may  be  won 
by  the  obedient  life  of  their  wives  (121). 

God's  wrath  comes  upon  the  children  of  "dis- 
obedience" (122),  because  they  are  deceived  by 
vain  words  (123).  The  prince  of  the  power  of  the 


50  The  Law  of  Faith 

air  is  the  spirit  that  now  works  in  the  children  of 
" disobedience"  (124). 

The  Jews  had  " despised"  the  Lord  (125)  and 
His  word  (126)  and  His  statutes  (127).  They  had 
"refused"  to  hearken  (128).  They  had  ''with- 
drawn "  their  shoulder  (129).  They  had  hardened 
their  hearts  like  "adamant"  (130).  They  "would 
none  of"  His  reproof  (131).  They  were  "rebel- 
lious" (132),  and  "rebelled"  against  Him  (133), 
and"revolted"  (134).  They  grafted  with  "strange" 
slips,  but  lost  their  harvest  ( 1 35) .  They ' '  meddled  " 
with  other  Gods  (136).  They  "provoked"  His 
glory  (137). 

God's  "measure"  is  allotted  to  each  (138).  He 
will  make  known  His  indignation  toward  His 
"enemies"  (139).  He  will  purge  away  the 
"dross"  (140).  He  bestows  gifts  even  on  the 
"rebellious"  (141).  He  instructs  them  "not  to 
walk"  in  evil  ways  (142).  He  opened  Isaiah's  ear 
that  he  might  not  be  "rebellious"  (143).  But  the 
"rebellious"  son  is  judged  (144).  A  little  child 
cannot  learn  to  "refuse"  evil  (145)  more  quickly 
than  God's  judgments  fall. 

Men  might  "rebel"  against  Joshua  (146). 
They  had  "rebelled"  against  the  Assyrians  (147). 
So,  Elisha  had  "refused"  Naaman's  gift  (148). 

Several  Meanings.  In  some  cases  the  words 
themselves,  or  the  words  with  their  immediate  con- 
text, may  have  an  additional,  or  a  different  mean- 


The  Faithfulness  of  Man  51 

ing.  They  are  therefore  repeated  in  such  meaning 
in  other  parts  of  this  book. 

This  is  true  in  the  following  cases : 

"The  Faith"  (149)  may  mean  the  truth  itself. 

"Faith"  (150)  and  "Faith  in  Christ'*  (151)  may 
mean  trust  in  Christ. 

"Faithful"  (152),  "Faithful  in  the  Lord"  (153), 
"Faithful  to  the  Lord"  (154),  and  "Faithful  in 
Christ"  (155)  may  all  mean  trusting  in  Christ. 

"Believe"  (156)  and  "Unbelief"  (157)  may 
mean  trusting  or  not  trusting  in  God. 

"Believe"  (158)  may  mean  trust  in  Christ,  and 
(159)  belief  about  Christ. 

"Believe"  and  "Disobedient"  (160)  may  mean 
either  trust  in  Christ  or  belief  about  Christ. 

"Heard  my  words"  (161)  may  mean  obeyed  as 
here,  or  believed. 

"Faith"  may  mean  trust  in  God  (162). 

"The  faith  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ"  (163)  and 
the  "faith  of  Jesus"  (164)  may  refer  to  trust  in 
Christ. 

Nearly  one  hundred  Bible  chapters  have  been 
cited  here.  In  the  sense  of  human  faithfulness 
indicated,  almost  every  form  of  the  faith-word 
occurs,  and  in  a  large  majority  of  the  chapters  the 
same  words  or  roots  and  other  words  of  confidence 
and  assurance  recur  many  times  in  speaking  of 
other  forms  of  faith. 

In  the  New  Testament  when  men  are  called 


52  The  Law  of  Faith 

faithful,  it  is  generally  with  reference  to  their 
fidelity,  their  trust  in  God,  or  their  belief.  Their 
truthfulness  is  generally  expressed,  as  in  the  origi- 
nal Greek,  by  other  words.  In  the  Old  Testament 
the  faith-word  is  frequently  used  for  truthfulness 
in  speaking  of  men  (as  we  have  seen  it  used  in  both 
Old  and  New  Testaments  in  speaking  of  God). 
This  is  the  case  in  a  number  of  passages  cited  in 
this  chapter. 

In  the  passages  relating  to  faithfulness  between 
men  and  in  the  immediate  context  the  faithful 
and  truthful  are  contrasted  with  liars  and  flatter- 
ers, boasters,  rebels,  enemies,  and  betrayers,  false 
prophets,  the  chaff  before  God's  wind,  beaten  by 
His  hammer,  consumed  by  His  fire. 

The  law  of  truth  has  more  than  a  pragmatic 
force.  And  it  does  not  grow  out  of  changing  cus- 
toms, although  men  learn  by  experience  and 
custom.  First  taught  the  usefulness  of  sincerity 
in  human  intercourse  by  their  experience,  perhaps, 
men  have  come  to  recognise  its  expediency — and 
then  more  slowly,  in  times  of  inexpediency,  its 
rank  among  the  noblest  and  most  godlike  qualities 
of  man.  Man  at  his  best  is  truthful.  He  honours 
this  form  of  faithfulness  in  others.  He  prides 
himself  on  it  as  his  own,  or  he  pretends  it  is  his, 
or  excuses  himself,  if  it  is  not.  He  formulates  and 
honours  the  law  of  truth,  although  he  may  not 
obey  it.  Truth  is  loyalty  to  men — an  obligation 
as  plain  as  honesty.  It  is  a  duty  and  not  a  policy. 


The  Faithfulness  of  Man  53 

And  faith,  in  this  form  as  in  all  its  forms,  seems 
to  imply  some  duty  always — something  that  is 
committed  to  us  and  carries  its  obligations  with  it. 
Man  is  a  trustee  always.  Deceit  is  fraud.  And 
it  may  poison  as  well  as  rob.  The  plain  and  the 
universal  law  of  human  nature  is  confidence, 
trustworthiness,  and  trusting.  And  that  is  the 
duty  of  man  to  man. 

In  service,  as  in  word,  in  the  performance  of 
life's  common  duties  fidelity  (the  character  and 
conduct  of  the  faithful  man),  like  truthfulness,  is  a 
noble  and  godlike  quality  that  all  men  praise,  and 
that  men  pretend  to,  if  they  have  it  not.  It 
befits  alike  the  king's  lieutenant,  the  prophet,  the 
judge,  the  workman,  the  disciple  and  the  steward, 
the  worshipper  and  the  priest,  the  king  and  the 
royal  city.  It  befits  Moses  the  servant  of  God 
and  Christ  the  Son. 

Fidelity  is  a  reason  in  the  Scriptures  for  God's 
confidence  and  blessing  and  deliverance,  for  God's 
choice  of  men  for  service,  and  for  His  protection 
and  vindication  and  crown  of  victory.  And  this 
accords  with  the  best  reasoning  of  men.  It  is  not 
an  arbitrary  favouritism  but  a  divine  adaptation  of 
means  to  ends — the  giving  of  guidance  to  those 
that  will  be  led,  of  knowledge  to  those  who  will 
hear,  of  service  to  the  serviceable,  of  safety 
and  victory  to  the  courageous,  of  prosperity  to 
the  diligent.  Found  in  the  disciple,  it  glorifies  the 
Master.  Found  in  the  judge,  it  is  the  sign  of  the 


54  The  Law  of  Faith 

fear  of  God.  It  is  the  spirit  of  a  true  obedience, 
although  man's  obedience  must  always  come  short 
of  the  letter  of  a  perfect  law.  Unfailing  faith  waits 
for  entire  conversion.  In  the  context  to  these 
passages  fidelity  is  contrasted  with  pride  and  envy, 
with  injustice  and  negligence  and  incapacity,  with 
idolatry  and  disobedience,  with  covetousness,  lies, 
violence,  folly,  fraud. 

God's  fatherly  faithfulness,  unchanged  by  man's 
unfaithfulness,  makes  plain  and  great  the  folly 
and  shame  of  the  unfaithful.  In  human  relations, 
fidelity  is  honoured  by  others  and  is  a  blessing  to 
themselves — whether  the  faithful  man  be  governor 
or  treasurer,  householder  or  servant,  messenger  or 
friend,  man's  trust  and  life's  opportunities  are  for 
the  trustworthy.  A  world  of  faithful  men  would 
be  a  world  without  wrong — perhaps  without 
poverty — and  certainly  without  much  of  the 
many  "ills  that  flesh  is  heir  to." 

In  obedience  we  find  the  same  obligation,  the 
same  relation  to  God's  favour  and  blessing,  the 
same  connection  with  Christian  life.  The  Scrip- 
tures make  mention  of  the  authority  of  God  and 
of  human  authority.  All  obedience  is  faith  and 
rests  on  faith.  Obedience  is  fidelity  under  an 
express  law — in  its  literal  meaning,  a  hearkening 
unto  the  spoken  word.  The  Scriptures  generally 
use  for  obedience  a  word  of  hearing,  in  the  ancient 
versions  as  well  as  in  the  English.  But  in  many 
passages  in  the  New  Testament  a  faith-word  is  so 


The  Faithfulness  of  Man  55 

translated.  No  passages  are  here  cited  except 
those  which  use  some  faith-word  in  the  English 
version  or  in  the  Greek. 

We  obey  that  to  which  we  assent.  We  obey 
him  whose  actual  authority  we  acknowledge.  We 
may  obey  a  controlling  law  that  we  do  not  under- 
stand but  must  recognise — or  that  we  intelligently 
but  unwillingly  assent  to.  And  we  may  obey  a 
ruler  whose  authority  we  dispute  or  disapprove. 
But  to  a  hearty  obedience  there  belongs  an  assent 
and  confidence  of  the  heart,  which  is  often  stronger 
and  more  intelligent  than  reason. 

Thus  faith  becomes  the  spirit  and  measure  of 
obedience,  but  obedience  is  generally  exhibited  in 
action.  And  where  faith  and  work  have  been 
drawn  into  a  seeming  conflict,  it  is  generally  the 
contrast  of  the  faith — the  desire  and  effort  of  the 
faithful  heart — with  the  work  of  the  unfaithful 
hand.  And  whose  hand  is  not  unfaithful,  although 
he  may  think  that  his  incomplete  and  formal 
obedience  is  complete?  Faith  must  in  its  nature 
lead  (and  faith  and  love  are  the  only  things  that 
do  lead)  toward  free  service  and  hearty  obedience. 
It  may  be  a  poor  faith — any  one  of  its  many  and 
weakest  forms — but  without  some  faith  there  is  no 
leading. 

Faithfulness  toward  God  calls  for  sincerity  in 
worship — stedfastness  in  purpose  and  service — 
and  obedience  in  all  things. 

There  is  a  divine  law  for  every  man's  obedience 


56  The  Law  of  Faith 

— for  prophet  and  priest  and  king  and  apostle  and 
martyr — for  every  master — and  for  every  servant. 
And  there  is  a  covenant  with  God  for  every  man's 
stedfastness. 

Honesty  and  diligence  in  the  performance  of  a 
duty,  in  the  payment  of  a  debt  are  forms  of  faith, 
which  all  men  praise.  It  is  not  necessary  to  preach 
their  goodness.  Neither  should  it  be  necessary 
to  persuade  men  that  truth  and  honesty  are 
pleasing  to  the  Holy  One. 

For  each  duty  relates  back  to  some  acknow- 
ledged right,  and  each  right  points  us  back  to  Him, 
who  alone  is  right.  Fidelity  in  the  things  of  men 
is  fidelity  to  God. 

Of  all  the  forms  of  faith  there  is  none  so  generally 
desired  and  honoured — perhaps  no  other  is  as  com- 
mon among  men — as  faithfulness.  But  it  is  true, 
that  no  other  form  of  faith  tends  so  naturally  to 
defeat  itself.  The  doing  well  degenerates  into  the 
pride  of  having  done.  And  the  meaner  and  more 
ignoble  men  lose  the  growing  ideal  and  immensity 
of  duty,  or  ignore  its  lofty  authority.  In  their 
achievement  and  attainment  they  forget  all  that 
is  left  undone ;  and  they  are  satisfied.  Their  faith, 
once  living,  has  now  become  their  works — their 
pride,  their  unfaith.  It  is  now  as  dead  a  thing  as 
that  faith  that  bears  no  fruit  in  works. 

Perhaps  this  is  why  human  obedience  (which 
must  always  be  a  mere  effort  and  incomplete) 
cannot  save  the  man.  It  ceases  to  reach  the 


The  Faithfulness  of  Man  57 

springs  of  life.  In  the  very  things  accomplished, 
the  spirit,  that  is  not  pushed  on  by  its  dependence 
and  expectation,  becomes  self-satisfied.  It  can- 
not move  forward  or  grow,  for  it  has  ceased  to  reach 
for,  and  receive,  the  bread  that  its  life  requires. 
Is  it  not  this — rather  than  the  mathematics  of  an 
unfulfilled  law  or  the  dignity  of  an  unsatisfied 
justice — that  makes  man's  best  possible  obedience 
unavailing?  It  returns  upon  itself,  and  ceases  to 
reach  God  the  giver. 

This  tendency  of  Fidelity  to  lose  its  power  is 
counteracted  by  Belief  or  Trust.  Perhaps  they 
act  with  fidelity  to  some  extent  in  all  cases, 
belief  and  trust  recognise  (however  indefinitely) 
and  reach  out  (however  doubtingly)  toward  the 
power  that  helps — the  Power  that  fidelity  per- 
haps unwittingly  obeys. 

In  higher  natures  faithfulness  may  reach  this 
end  without  conscious  belief  or  trust,  by  an  innate 
appreciation  of  the  reality  and  magnitude  of  duty 
and  of  the  incompleteness  of  the  best  performance. 
In  such  natures  there  is  an  attitude  of  dependence 
and  expectation,  which  prompts  the  movement 
toward  Him  whom  they  see  not.  It  acts  like  a 
living  faith.  It  often  leads  to  more  definite 
beliefs  and  more  definite  confidence  in  the  Source 
and  Giver.  But  whether  it  leads  that  way  or  not, 
it  would  be  rash  for  any  man  to  say,  that  it  is  not 
a  saving  faith  and  will  not  lead  to  Him. 

Probably  no  man  utterly  and  always  lacks  all  or 


58  The  Law  of  Faith 

any  one  of  the  forms  of  faith  spoken  of  in  this 
chapter.  A  man  always  untrue  in  all  relations  of 
word  and  conduct — always  rebellious  to  every 
law  of  God  and  man — would  be  an  impossible 
fiction,  whose  life  on  earth  would  be  incredible. 

It  is  equally  true  that  the  ideals  toward  which 
men  move  are  never  reached.  No  man  is  entirely 
and  always  obedient  and  true. 

In  this,  as  in  all  nature,  are  seen  the  co-existence 
and  the  conflict  between  the  forces  of  life  and  death. 
And  such  conflicting  forces  move  and  control 
the  social  and  the  spiritual,  as  well  as  the  intel- 
lectual and  the  physical,  world.  If  faith  is  not 
life,  or  life's  germ,  it  is  the  moving  force  of 
life.  Belief  wakens,  trust  moves,  and  faithfulness 
steadies  man. 

NOTES 

i.  Is.  8:2 — 2.  Jer.  23:28—3.  Prov.  14:25 — 4.  Ps.  89: 
37 — 5-  Prov.  14:5 — 6.  Prov.  27:6—7.  Ps.  5:9 — 8.  Ps. 
12:1 — 9.  Prov.  20:6 — 10.  Job.  12:20 — n.  Ps.  119:30 — 
12.  i  Chron.  9:  22 — 13.  i  Chron.  9  :26 — 14.  i  Chron.  9  :  31— 
15.  2  Chron.  31:15 — 16.  2  Chron.  31:18 — 17.  i  Sam.  22: 
14 — 18.  2  Sam.  20:19 — 19.  2  Chron.  19:9 — 20.  2  Chron. 
31:12 — 21.  2  Chron.  34:12 — 22.  Eph.  1:1 — 23.  Col.  1:2 — 
24.  Col.  1:4 — 25.  3  John  5 — 26.  i  Pet.  5:12 — 27.  i  Cor. 
4: 17 — 28.  i  Tim.  i :  12 — 29.  i  Thess.  3:  2,  5,  6,  7,  10;  2  Thess. 
1 :  3,  4 — 30.  i  Tim.  2: 15 — 31.  Col.  4:  7;  Eph.  6:  21—32.  Col. 
4=9 — 33-  Col.  1:7 — 34.  Tit.  1:6—35.  i  Cor.  4:2—36.  i 
Tim.  3:11—37.  Heb.  2:17— 38.  Heb.  3:2— 39.  Heb.  3:5— 


The  Faithfulness  of  Man  59 

40.  2  Kings  16:2 — 41.  Is.  1:21 — 42.  Is.  1:26 — 43.  Numb. 
12:  7 — 44.  i  Sam.  2:  35 — 45.  i  Sam.  26:  23 — 46.  Neh.  9:  8— 
47.  Prov.  28:20 — 48.  Hos.  ii :  12 — 49.  Ps.  31:23 — 50. 
Prov.  29:14—51.  Rom.  3:3 — 52.  Deut.  32:20 — 53.  Ps. 
78:37—54-  Ps-  78:57—55-  Ps-  78:8—56.  Rev.  17:14— 
57.  i  Cor.  7:25 — 58.  Tit.  2:10 — 59.  Acts.  6:7 — 60.  Rom. 
1:5 — 61.  Rom.  16:26 — 62.  2  Tim.  2:13 — 63.  Rev.  2:13 — 
64.  Rev.  2:10 — 65.  2  Tim.  4:7 — 66.  Ps.  101:6 — 67.  Dan. 
6:4 — 68.  2  Kings  12:15;  22:7 — 69.  Neh.  7:2 — 70.  Neh. 
13:13 — 71-  Prov-  13- !7 — 72-  Prov.  25:13 — 73.  Prov.  25:19 
— 74.  Job.  17:9 — 75.  Prov.  11:13 — 76.  Rom.  1:8 — 77. 
2  Thess.  1:3,  4 — 78.  Acts  16:  15 — 79.  Luke  22:32 — 80. 
i  Thess.  3:7 — 81.  2  Tim.  2:2 — 82.  Luke  16:  10 — 83.  Luke 
10:  n,  12 — 84.  Matt.  25:  21,  23 — 85.  Luke  19: 17 — 86. 
Matt.  24:  25;  Luke  12:  42 — 87.  Luke  12:  46 — 88.  James  2:  i — 
89.  Rev.  14:12 — 90.  Acts  5:  29 — 91.  Acts  5:32 — 92.  Acts 
26:19 — 93.  Rom.  15:31 — 94.  2  Tim.  3:2;  Rom.  1:30 — 95. 
Tit.  3:1 — 96.  Heb.  13:1 — 97.  James  3:3 — 98.  Acts.  6:7; 
Rom.  1:5;  16:26 — 99.  Gal.  3:1;  5:7 — 100.  Ps.  119:66 — 
101.  Jer.  25:6 — 102.  John  3:36 — 103.  Rom.  2:8 — 104. 
Josh.  5:  6 — 105.  Deut.  32:  51 — 106.  Numb.  20:  10 — 107. 
i  Pet.  3:20—108.  Rom.  10:21 — 109.  Is.  65:2 — no.  Heb. 
11:31 — in.  Heb.  3:12 — 112.  Heb.  3:18,  19 — 113.  Heb. 
4:6,11 — 114.  Ex.  23:21 — 115.  Luke  1:17 — 116.  Acts.  19:9 
—117.  i  Pet.  2:7,  8 — 118.  Tit.  1:16 — 119.  Tit.  3:3 — 120. 
Rom.  11:30 — 121.  i  Pet.  3:1 — 122.  Col.  3:6;  Eph.  5:6 — 
123.  Eph.  5:6 — 124.  Eph.  2:2 — 125.  Num.  11:20 — 126. 
Is.  30:12 — 127.  Lev.  26:15 — 128.  Zech.  7:11 — 129.  Neh. 
9:29 — 130.  Zech.  7:12 — 131.  Prov.  i  : 25 — 132.  Deut.  9:  7, 
24;  Jer.  5: 23;  Is.  1:23;  30:  9 — 133.  Deut.  1:26;  9:  23;  13.63:  10 
— 134.  Is.  59: 13;  Hos.  9: 15 — 135.  Is.  17:  10 — 136.  Prov. 
24:21—137.  Is.  3:8—138.  Jer.  13:25—139.  Is.  66:14— 


60  The  Law  of  Faith 

140.  Is.  1:25 — 141.  Ps.  68:  18 — 142.  Is.  8:  n — 143.  Is. 
50:5 — 144.  Deut.  21:18,  20 — 145.  Is.  7:  16 — 146.  Josh. 
1:18 — 147.  Is.  36:5 — 148.  2  Kings  5:16 — 149.  Acts  6:7; 
2  Tim.  4:  7 — 150.  Luke  22  -.32;  Acts  6:  7;  Rom.  i:  8;  I  Thess. 
3:  2,  5,  7,  10;  2  Thess.  1:3,  4;  2  Tim.  4:  7;  Heb.  6:  12—151.  Col. 
1:4 — 152.  Col.  4:7;  i  Tim.  1:12;  2  Tim.  2:2;  Tit.  1:6 — 
153.  i  Cor.  4:  17;  Eph.  6:21 — 154.  Acts  16: 15— 155.  Eph. 
1:1;  Col.  1:2,  7—156.  Rom.  3:3;  Heb.  3:18;  11:31—157. 
Rom.  3:3;  11:30,  32;  Heb.  3:12,  19;  4:6,  11—158.  John 
3:36 — 159.  Acts  19:9;  Rom.  15:31 — 160.  i  Pet.  2:7 — 161. 
Jer.  25:8 — 162.  i  Tim.  2:15—163.  James  2:1-^164.  Rev. 
14: 12. 


CHAPTER  V 

FAITH   IN   GOD 
ITS  RELATION  TO  HAPPINESS 

In  its  Relation  to  Divine  Favour.  Faith  in  God 
is  a  gift  of  the  Spirit.  God's  goodness  is  shown 
in  merciful  deliverance,  in  lovingkindness,  in 
sheltering  care,  in  bountiful  gifts;  and  these  in 
turn  lead  to  faith  in  Him. 

To  one  is  given  by  the  Spirit  the  word  of  wisdom, 
to  another  "faith, "  to  another  the  gifts  of  healing 
(i).  God's  lovingkindness  is  excellent,  and  there- 
fore the  children  of  men  "put  their  trust"  under 
the  shadow  of  His  wings  (2).  I  have  "trusted" 
in  Thy  mercy:  my  heart  shall  rejoice  in  Thy 
salvation  (3).  The  Lord  shall  be  for  "a  sanc- 
tuary." I  will  wait  upon  the  Lord  and  I  will 
"look  for  Him"  (4).  The  rich  are  not  to  be  high- 
minded,  nor  "trust"  in  uncertain  riches,  but  in  the 
living  God,  who  gives  all  things  for  our  enjoyment 

(5). 

Trust  in  God  follows  upon  great  deliverance  by 

N.  B. — The  notes  of  passages  referred  to  by  number  are  found 
at  the  end  of  the  chapter. 

61 


62  The  Law  of  Faith 

Him.  They  that  know  thy  name  will  put  their 
"trust"  in  thee:  for  Thou,  Lord,  hast  not  for- 
saken them  that  seek  Thee  (6).  He  brought  me 
up  also  out  of  an  horrible  pit.  Many  shall  see  it 
and  shall  "trust"  in  the  Lord  (7).  He  is  my 
refuge  and  my  fortress,  my  God,  in  him  shall  I 
"trust"  (8).  The  Lord  is  my  strength,  and  my 
shield;  my  heart  "trusted"  in  Him,  and  I  am 
helped:  therefore  my  heart  greatly  rejoiceth; 
and  with  my  song  will  I  praise  Him  (9).  A  man 
shall  "look  to"  his  Maker.  And  he  shall  not 
"look  to"  the  altars,  the  work  of  his  hands, 
neither  shall  he  respect  that  which  his  ringers  have 
made,  either  the  groves  or  the  images  (10). 

Faith  is  the  way  that  leads  to  the  divine  inheri- 
tance. He  that  trusts  in  the  Lord  shall  be  kept  in 
peace.  We  are  to  be  followers  of  them  who 
through  "faith"  and  patience  inherit  the  promises 
(n).  God  will  keep  him  in  perfect  peace  whose 
mind  is  stayed  on  Him:  because  he  "trusted"  in 
Him  (12).  ' 

God's  blessing  is  on  those  that  trust  Him.  He 
bids  us  serve  Him  with  fear  and  kiss  the  Son,  lest 
He  be  angry,  and  we  perish  when  His  wrath  is 
kindled.  Blessed  are  all  that  "put  their  trust" 
in  Him  (13). 

The  Lord  is  good.  The  man  is  blessed  that 
"trusts"  in  Him  (14) — that  makes  the  Lord  his 
"trust,"  without  respect  to  the  proud  and  the 
false  (15).  He  that  "trusts"  in  the  Lord  is  happy 


Faith  in  God  63 

(16).  He  that  "puts  his  trust"  in  the  Lord  shall 
be  made  fat  (17);  and  mercy  shall  compass  him 
about  (18). 

Under  His  wings  Ruth  had  come  to  "trust" — 
and  to  find  a  full  reward  (19).  And  the  Psalmist 
prayed  for  mercy,  for  his  soul  "trusted"  in  God, 
and  in  the  shadow  of  His  wings  he  will  make  his 
refuge  (20). 

He  hides  them  that  "trust"  in  Him  in  the  secret 
of  His  presence  from  the  pride  of  man:  He  keeps 
them  secretly  in  a  pavilion  from  the  strife  of 
tongues  (2oa).  God  lays  a  sure  foundation — He 
that  "believes"  shall  not  make  haste  (21).  He 
that  puts  His  "trust "  in  God  shall  possess  the  land, 
and  shall  inherit  the  holy  mountain  (22).  He  that 
turns  away  his  foot  from  the  sabbath,  from  doing 
his  pleasure  on  God's  holy  day,  shall  delight 
himself  in  the  Lord;  and  God  will  cause  him 
to  ride  upon  the  high  places  of  the  earth  (23). 
The  Lord  redeems  the  soul  of  His  servants: 
and  none  of  them  that  "trust"  shall  be  des- 
olate (24). 

By  faith  sacrifice  finds  acceptance,  for  it  is  the 
spirit  of  the  sacrifice. 

Offer  the  sacrifices  of  righteousness,  and  put 
your  "trust"  in  the  Lord  (25).  By  "faith"  Abel 
offered  unto  God  a  more  excellent  sacrifice  than 
Cain  (26). 

By  it  men  please  God  and  are  accounted  right- 
eous. By  "faith"  Enoch  was  translated  for  he 


64  The  Law  of  Faith 

pleased  God.  But  without  "  faith  "  it  is  impossible 
to  please  Him  (27). 

Abraham  "believed"  God,  and  it  was  accounted 
to  him  for  righteousness  (28).  God  in  whom  he 
"believed"  made  him  the  father  of  many  nations 
(29).  Those  that  are  of  "faith"  are  blessed  with 
"faithful"  Abraham  (30).  If  men  are  heirs  by 
law,  "faith"  is  made  void.  It  is  by  "faith"  and 
grace,  that  the  promise  might  be  to  all  the  seed- 
that  which  is  of  the  law  and  that  which  is  of  the 
"faith  of  Abraham"  (31).  And  the  Scripture 
taught  that  God  would  justify  the  heathen  through 
"faith"  and  that  in  Abraham  all  nations  should  be 
blessed  (32). 

By  it  men  are  kept  in  the  love  of  God  and  learn 
to  know  that  love  and  the  way  that  it  points  out. 

Disciples  are  to  build  up  themselves  on  their 
most  holy  "faith"  and  keep  themselves  in  the  love 
of  God  (33).  Cause  me  to  hear  Thy  loving- 
kindness  for  in  Thee  do  I  "  trust ' '  (34) .  Him  that 
is  weak  in  "the  faith"  receive  ye,  but  not  to 
doubtful  disputations  (35). 

Faith  beholds  God's  glory.  Jesus  said  to  Martha 
that,  if  she  would  "believe"  she  should  see  the 
glory  of  God  (36). 

Faith  learns  from  man's  unbelief.  Gentiles  in 
times  past  had  not  "believed"  God,  yet  afterward 
obtained  mercy  through  the  Jews'  "unbelief." 
Even  so  have  the  Jews  not  "believed,"  that 
through  mercy  to  Gentiles  they  may  obtain  mercy. 


Faith  in  God  65 

For  God  concluded  all  in  " unbelief"  that  He 
might  have  mercy  upon  all  (37) . 

Faith  is  commended  throughout  the  Scriptures— 
a  thing  to  follow,  tested  like  gold,  measured  and 
prized  by  Christ.  It  pleases  God.  Without  faith 
men  cannot  please  God.  His  gifts  are  greater 
than  our  faith. 

Follow  their  "faith"  considering  the  end  of 
their  conversation,  Jesus  Christ  (38).  That  the 
trial  of  your  "faith,"  more  precious  than  gold, 
might  be  found  unto  praise  and  honour  and  glory, 
at  the  appearing  of  Jesus  Christ  (39).  Unto  the 
angel  of  the  church  in  Thyatira  write:  I  know 
Thy  works,  and  charity,  and  service,  and  "faith" 
(40). 

Christ  called  His  disciples  in  the  storm  fearful, 
and  "of  little  faith"  and  arose  and  rebuked  the 
winds  and  the  sea ;  and  there  was  a  great  calm  (41 ). 
He  asked,  How  is  it  that  ye  have  no  "faith"?  (42). 
So,  when  they  could  not  heal  the  epileptic  boy 
He  called  His  disciples  a  "faithless"  and  perverse 
generation  and  bid  them  bring  the  boy  to  Him  (43). 

And  if  God  clothes  the  grass,  how  much  more 
will  He  clothe  you,  O  ye  "of  little  faith"  (44). 
But  Scribes  and  Pharisees  pay  tithe  of  mint 
and  anise  and  cummin,  and  have  omitted  the 
weightier  matters  of  the  law,  judgment,  mercy, 
and  "faith"  (45). 

Men  were  warned  against  an  evil  heart  of  "un- 
belief," in  departing  from  the  living  God  (46). 


66  The  Law  of  Faith 

Without  "faith"  it  is  impossible  to  please  God 

(47). 

Faith  is  associated  with  the  power  and  the 
directness  of  God's  answer  to  prayer.  It  is 
sometimes  treated  as  the  very  condition  on  which 
alone  answer  is  made.  It  is  a  fruit  of  the  Spirit 
and  the  condition  of  Divine  guidance. 

Thou  who  art  "the  confidence"  of  all  the  ends 
of  the  earth  wilt  answer  us  (48).  The  apostles 
asked  for  increase  of  "faith. "  And  the  Lord  said, 
If  ye  had  "faith"  as  a  grain  of  mustard-seed,  ye 
might  say  unto  this  tree,  Be  thou  plucked  up  by 
the  root,  and  planted  in  the  sea;  and  it  should 
obey  you  (49).  If  any  lack  wisdom,  let  him  ask  of 
God  (50).  The  prayer  of  "faith"  shall  save  the 
sick,  and  the  Lord  shall  raise  him  up  (51).  Jesus 
said  to  His  disciples,  Have  "faith"  in  God.  Who- 
ever shall  say  unto  this  mountain,  Be  thou  removed 
and  be  thou  cast  into  the  sea;  and  shall  "believe" 
that  which  he  says  shall  come  to  pass;  he  shall 
have  what  he  says — What  things  ye  desire,  when 
ye  pray,  "believe"  that  ye  receive  them,  and  ye 
shall  have  them  (52).  Whatever  ye  shall  ask  in 
prayer,  "believing,"  ye  shall  receive  (53). 

When  the  Son  of  man  comes,  shall  he  find  "faith" 
on  the  earth?  (54).  The  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  love, 
joy,  peace,  longsuffering,  gentleness,  goodness, 
"faith,"  meekness,  temperance  (55). 

"Trust"  in  the  Lord.  In  all  thy  ways  acknow- 
ledge Him,  and  He  shall  direct  thy  paths  (56).  But 


Faith  in  God  67 

apostles  have  no  dominion  over  their  converts* 
"faith."     By  their  own  "faith"  they  stand  (57). 

In  its  Relation  to  Divine  Deliverance.  Faith 
is  bound  up  with  man's  thought  of  escape  from 
danger,  disaster,  desolation,  and  destruction. 

Be  not  afraid  of  sudden  fear,  neither  of  desola- 
tion when  it  comes.  For  the  Lord  shall  be  thy 
11  confidence"  (58).  Mothers  shall  be  saved  in 
child-bearing,  if  they  continue  in  "faith"  and 
holiness  (59).  The  fear  of  man  brings  a  snare: 
but  whoever  puts  his  "trust"  in  the  Lord  shall  be 
safe  (60).  Every  word  of  God  is  pure:  He  is  a 
shield  unto  them  that  put  their  "trust"  in  Him  (61 ) . 
I  am  poor  .and  needy.  O  my  God,  save  Thy 
servant  that  "trusts"  in  Thee  (62). 

I  have  "trusted"  in  the  Lord;  therefore  I  shall 
not  slide  (63).  Blessed  is  the  man  that  "trusts" 
in  the  Lord,  and  whose  "hope"  the  Lord  is  (64). 
Leave  thy  fatherless  children,  I  will  preserve  them 
alive;  and  let  thy  widows  "trust"  in  me  (65). 
The  Lord  redeems  the  soul.  None  of  them  that 
' '  trust ' '  in  Him  shall  be  desolate  (66) .  They  that 
"trust"  in  the  Lord  shall  be  as  Mount  Zion,  which 
cannot  be  removed,  but  abideth  forever  (67). 
Thy  counsels  of  old  are  "faithfulness"  and  truth 
(68). 

The  Lord  founded  Zion,  and  the  poor  of  His 
people  shall  "trust"  in  it  (69).  God  lays  in  Zion 
a  precious  corner  stone,  a  sure  foundation:  he 


68  The  Law  of  Faith 

that  "believes"  shall  not  make  haste.  The  hail 
shall  sweep  away  the  "refuge"  of  lies,  and  the 
waters  shall  overflow  the  hiding-place  (70). 

Thou  shalt  not  fall  by  the  sword,  because  thou 
hast  put  thy  "trust"  in  me,  saith  the  Lord  (71). 

Those  that  trust  in  God  find  in  Him  their  help 
and  their  shield — in  the  wilderness,  in  the  plague, 
in  the  fiery  furnace,  and  among  lions. 

"Trust "  thou  in  the  Lord.  He  is  their  help  and 
their  shield  (72).  A  fire  was  kindled  against  Jacob, 
and  anger  also  came  up  against  Israel;  because 
they  "believed"  not  in  God,  and  "trusted"  not 
in  his  salvation  (73). 

Take  heed,  lest  there  be  in  any  of  you  an  evil 
heart  of  "unbelief,"  in  departing  from  the  living 
God.  He  sware  that  they  should  not  enter  into 
His  rest,  to  them  that  "believed"  not.  They 
could  not  enter  in  because  of  "unbelief"  (74). 
We  that  "believed"  do  enter  into  rest.  Those 
to  whom  it  was  first  preached  entered  not  in 
because  of  "unbelief."  Let  us  try  not  to  fall 
after  the  same  example  of  "unbelief"  (75).  The 
Lord  having  saved  the  people  out  of  the  land  of 
Egypt,  afterward  destroyed  them  that  "believed" 
not  (76). 

God  delivered  His  servants  that  "trusted"  in 
Him,  and  yielded  their  bodies,  that  they  might 
not  serve  nor  worship  any  god,  except  their  own 
God  (77). 

Daniel  was  taken  up  out  of  the  den  of  lions  and 


Faith  in  God  69 

no  manner  of  hurt  was  found  upon  him,  because 
he  "believed"  in  his  God  (78). 

God  delivers  the  faithful  from  evil  doers,  from 
enemies,  and  from  accusers. 

In  the  Lord  put  I  my  "trust"  (79).  God  can 
hide  from  the  secret  counsel  of  the  wicked.  The 
righteous  shall  be  glad  in  the  Lord  and  shall 
"trust"  in  Him  (80).  Deliver  me,  O  my  God, 
out  of  the  hand  of  the  wicked.  For  thou  art  my 
"hope"  O  Lord  God:  Thou  art  my  "trust"  from 
my  youth  (81).  In  Thee  is  my  "trust";  leave 
not  my  soul  destitute  (82). 

The  Lord  shall  deliver  them  from  the  wicked, 
and  save  them,  because  they  "trust"  in  Him  (83). 

In  Thee,  O  Lord,  do  I  put  my  "trust":  let  me 
never  be  put  to  confusion  (84).  "Trust"  in  Him 
at  all  times,  pour  out  your  hearts  before  Him  (85). 
I  will  "trust"  in  Thee  (86).  My  soul  "trusts" 
in  Thee  (87).  I  will  "trust"  in  Him:  I  will  main- 
tain mine  own  ways  before  Him  (88). 

Deliverance  comes  with  faith  or  follows  it.  It 
was  so  in  the  time  of  our  fathers,  of  Saul,  of 
David,  of  Asa,  of  Jehoshaphat,  of  Hezekiah,  of 
Josiah,  and  of  Paul. 

Our  fathers  "trusted"  in  Thee:  they  "trusted" 
and  Thou  didst  deliver  them.  They  "trusted" 
in  Thee,  and  were  not  confounded  (89).  They 
cried  to  God  in  the  battle,  and  He  was  entreated 
of  them;  because  they  put  their  "trust"  in  Him 

(90). 


70  The  Law  of  Faith 

And  David  spake  unto  the  Lord  the  words  of  this 
song;  and  he  said,  The  Lord  is  my  rock;  in  Him 
will  I  "trust"  (91).  As  for  God,  His  way  is  per- 
fect; He  is  a  buckler  to  all  them  that  "trust"  in 
Him  (92).  In  Thee  do  I  put  my  "trust":  save 
me  from  all  them  that  persecute  me  (93).  Thou 
that  savest  them  which  put  their  "trust"  in  Thee 
from  those  that  rise  up  against  them  (94).  The 
king  ' '  trusted ' '  in  the  Lord  (95) .  They  ' '  trusted ' ' 
in  Thee  and  were  not  confounded  (96).  He 
"trusted"  on  the  Lord  that  He  would  deliver  him 
(97).  O  my  God,  I  "trust"  in  thee;  let  me  not  be 
ashamed  (98) .  Though  war  should  rise  against  me 
in  this  will  I  be  "confident"  (99).  In  the  Lord 
"put  I  my  trust"  (100).  I  "trust"  in  the  mercy 
of  God  for  ever  and  ever  (101).  I  will  abide  in 
thy  tabernacle  for  ever:  I  will  "trust"  in  the 
covert  of  thy  wings  (102) .  O  God  of  our  salvation ; 
who  art  the  "confidence"  of  all  the  ends  of  the 
earth  and  of  them  that  are  afar  off  upon  the  sea 
(103).  He  shall  cover  thee  with  His  feathers  and 
under  His  wings  thou  shalt  "trust":  His  truth 
shall  be  thy  shield  and  buckler  (104).  It  is 
better  to  "trust"  in  the  Lord  than  to  put  "con- 
fidence" in  man.  It  is  better  to  "trust"  in  the 
Lord  than  to  put  "confidence"  in  princes  (105). 
In  thee,  0  Lord  do  I  put  my  "trust" ;  let  me  never 
be  ashamed :  deliver  me  in  Thy  righteousness  (106), 
I  "trust "  in  the  Lord  (107).  I  "trusted "  in  Thee 
(108).  How  great  is  Thy  goodness  for  them  that 


Faith  in  God  71 

"trust"  in  Thee  (109).  He  in  whom  I  " trust "; 
who  subdueth  my  people  under  me  (no).  It  is 
good  for  me  to  draw  near  to  God :  I  have  put  my 
"trust"  in  the  Lord  God  (ill). 

And  Asa  cried  unto  the  Lord  his  God,  and  said : 
Help  us,  O  Lord  our  God;  for  we  "rest  on"  Thee 
(112).  Because  thou  didst  "rely  on"  the  Lord, 
He  delivered  them  into  thine  hand  (113). 

Jehoshaphat  stood  and  said,  Hear  me,  O  Judah. 
"Believe"  in  the  Lord  your  God,  so  shall  ye  be 
"established";  "believe"  his  prophets,  so  shall 
ye  prosper  (114). 

Hezekiah  "trusted"  in  the  Lord  God  of  Israel; 
so  that  after  him  were  none  like  him  among  all 
the  kings  of  Judah,  nor  any  that  were  before  him 
(115).  If  ye  say  unto  me,  we  "trust"  in  the  Lord 
our  God:  is  not  that  he,  whose  high  places  and 
whose  altars  Hezekiah  hath  taken  away?  (116). 
Such  as  are  escaped  of  the  house  of  Jacob  shall 
no  more  again  "stay  upon"  him  that  smote  them: 
but  shall  "stay  upon"  the  Lord,  the  Holy  One  of 
Israel  (117).  O  Lord,  be  gracious  unto  us,  we 
have  "waited"  for  Thee;  be  Thou  our  salvation 
(118).  Who  is  among  you  that  feareth  the  Lord? 
Let  him  "trust"  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and 
stay  upon  his  God  (119).  The  Lord  is  good,  a 
strong  hold  in  the  day  of  trouble ;  and  He  knoweth 
them  that  "trust"  in  Him  (120).  The  isles 
shall  wait  upon  me  and  on  my  arm  shall  they 
"trust"  (121). 


72  The  Law  of  Faith 

Woe  to  the  oppressing  city.  She  "trusted" 
not  in  the  Lord;  she  drew  not  near  to  her 
God  (122). 

We  had  the  sentence  of  death  in  ourselves,  that 
we  should  not  "trust"  in  ourselves,  but  in  God 
which  raiseth  the  dead:  who  delivered  us  from  so 
great  a  death,  and  doth  deliver:  in  whom  we 
"trust"  that  He  will  deliver  us  (123). 

Taking  the  shield  of  "faith, "  wherewith  ye  shall 
be  able  to  quench  all  the  fiery  darts  of  the  wicked 

(124). 

The  priests  and  elders  mocked  Christ  in  the 
hour  of  his  crucifixion.  How  could  he  have 
"trusted"  in  God  and  not  been  delivered  by  Him, 
if  he  was  God's  own  Messiah  and  Son,  as  he  had 
said?  Let  Him  deliver  him  now,  if  He  will  have 
him:  for  he  said,  I  am  the  Son  of  God  (125). 

Faith  in  God,  as  spoken  of  in  the  passages  cited 
in  this  and  later  chapters,  is  man's  trust  in  God — 
not  his  faithfulness  in  word  or  action  nor  his 
beliefs  about  God.  To  avoid  misunderstanding, 
belief  will  in  general  be  called  Belief,  Faith  will  be 
used  for  trust  or  confidence,  and  Fidelity  for  human 
faithfulness.  In  the  Scriptures  Belief  and  Faith 
seem  to  be  both  used  in  all  three  senses,  the  words 
Faith  and  Believe  being  generally  used  in  the 
first  two  senses,  and  the  words  Faithful,  Believing, 
and  Believer  being  used  in  all  three  senses. 

In  the  passages  here  cited  the  words  Trust, 
Faith,  Belief,  Hope,  Confidence  are  all  used  to 


Faith  in  God  73 

express  the  one  idea  of  trustfulness  or  trust  in 
God. 

The  passage  in  Ps.  ii.,  12,  may  be  referred  by  its 
language  and  context  to  the  Father  or  to  the  Son, 
but  more  naturally,  as  here,  to  the  Father.  The 
passage  in  Jude  20,  may  refer  to  Christian  truth — 
the  thing  believed  and  rested  on — the  foundation 
on  which  the  character  is  built.  And  the  passage 
in  Heb.  xiii.,  7,  may  refer  to  the  fidelity  of  the 
elders  or  more  probably  to  their  faith  in  Christ, 
which  seems  to  be  indicated  by  the  immediate 
context. 

In  Isaiah  xxviii.,  16,  the  word  "believe**  seems 
to  relate  to  the  corner  stone  laid  in  Zion,  and  to 
Christ. 

And  where  no  object  of  faith  is  expressed,  as  in 
the  storm  on  the  lake  (126)  and  the  healing  of  the 
epileptic  (127),  the  faith  may  be  trust  in  God  or 
Christ. 

Besides  these,  many  passages  relating  to  the 
Jews*  "  unbelief"  and  their  exclusion  from  Canaan 
(128)  perhaps  refer  to  their  unfaithfulness  or  dis- 
obedience. 

In  a  few  passages  in  the  Old  Testament  the 
Hebrew  word,  which  occurs  in  Job  xiii.,  15,  and 
Isaiah  li.,  5,  is  translated  by  the  English  word 
"hope**  and  by  a  Greek  word  that  is  translated 
many  times  into  English  Scripture  as  "trust.** 


74  The  Law  of  Faith 

These  seem  to  be  used  in  the  same  sense  here. 
These  all  speak  of  hoping  in  the  Lord  (129)— 
or  in  His  mercy  (130) — or  in  His  word  (131). 
Two  do  not  name  the  object  of  the  hope,  but  refer 
it  to  the  Lord's  deliverance  (132).  In  other  places 
God  is  called  the  Hope  of  Israel  in  passages  (133) 
which  translate  by  the  word  "hope"  the  Hebrew 
word  that  is  translated  in  Isaiah  viii.,  17  as  "look 
for"  and  in  Isaiah  xxxiii.,  2  as  "wait  for. "  God  is 
also  called  "the  hope  of  his  people"  (134)  and 
"my  hope"  (135)  in  two  passages  that  use  a 
different  Hebrew  word,  which  is  in  other  places 
translated  "Refuge." 

In  the  New  Testament  the  word  "hope"  is 
used  exclusively  in  translation  of  the  Greek  and 
Latin  words  elpis  and  spes — and  refers  generally 
to  expectation  and  never  to  trust  in  Christ  or  in 
God,  except  in  I  Cor.  xv.,  19  and  I  Tim.  vi.,  17, 
where  those  words  are  translated  "trust"  in  the 
Authorised  Version  and  "hope"  in  the  Revised 
Version. 

What  we  hope  for  lies  always  in  the  unseen 
future,  but  God  is  the  hope  of  His  people  because 
of  what  He  is  and  has  been  to  them.  We  hope  for 
an  event  or  thing.  We  trust  in  a  Father  and  the 
trust  gives  us  a  hope  in  Him. 

The  Old  Testament  passages  above  cited  all 
name  the  object  and  nearly  all  speak  of  the  faith 
as  "trust"  in  God.  The  New  Testament  pas- 
sages above  cited  generally  use  the  word  "faith" 


Faith  in  God  75 

or  "believe."  With  a  few  exceptions  they  do 
not  name  the  object.  In  some  of  the  more  vague 
expressions  the  word  "faith"  may  indicate  a  child- 
like trustfulness  rather  than  a  conscious  trust  in 
God.  In  others  the  context,  if  not  the  phrase, 
points  to  God  as  faith's  object. 

What  the  relation  is  between  man's  faith  and 
God's  favour  is  not  defined  or  explained  in  the 
Scriptures.  That  there  exists  a  close  and  constant 
relation  is  plainly  said.  The  uniform  laws  of  the 
natural  world  were  little  known  or  thought  of  in 
ancient  days  and  are  not  often  spoken  of  in  the 
Bible. 

Our  own  reasoning  suggests  that  in  the  spiritual 
world  the  laws  that  move  and  govern  the  human 
spirit  differ  from  those  of  the  material  world,  are 
often  analogous  to  them,  and  may  be  as  uniform  or 
more  variable.  In  what  affects  the  spirit  and  its 
relation  to  other  things  and  spirits  and  to  the 
Divine  Spirit,  the  trust  may  well  be  a  reason,  a 
cause,  or  even  a  condition  of  the  blessing.  In  that 
spirit's  relation  to  the  natural  world  faith  affects 
the  spirit's  power  to  receive.  It  modifies  the 
adaptation  and  influence  of  even  material  things 
in  their  work  upon  the  man,  who  is  a  spirit  and  a 
body. 

We  must  acknowledge  also  the  infinite  inter- 
lacing and  co-operation  of  many  causes,  material 
and  spiritual,  each  following  its  own  "law." 


76  The  Law  of  Faith 

And  in  all  this  we  reach  no  explanation,  but  we 
get  an  imperfect  vision  of  a  real  relation  between 
man's  trust  and  God's  action  and  of  their  influence 
upon  each  other. 

In  the  Scriptures  dependence  on  God  and  sub- 
mission to  Him  are  plainly  spoken  of  as  the  condi- 
tion or  reason — or  perhaps  more  precisely  the 
occasion — of  man's  peace  and  blessedness,  and 
sometimes  of  his  earthly  prosperity.  They  are 
also  closely  connected  with  the  sincerity,  humility, 
and  earnestness  of  prayer  and  sacrifice,  and  with 
answer  to  prayer  and  acceptance  of  sacrifice. 

If  this  connection  is  not  an  arbitrary  but  a  vital 
one — if  faith  in  man  is  the  occasion  for  favour  and 
mercy  from  God — it  cannot  be  attributed  to  any 
mere  expression  or  confession  or  feeling  or  attitude 
of  the  man.  The  relation  must  be  one  between  the 
living  person  that  receives  and  the  thing  received. 
The  feeling  is  the  symptom,  and  the  faith  is  the 
active  expression,  of  the  living  human  spirit,  its 
living  desire  or  purpose.  By  this  desire  and 
purpose  a  human  being  can  appropriate  divine 
gifts — the  living  child  can  receive  and  use  what  the 
living  Father  provides. 

That  a  father  should  supply  the  needs  of  the 
child  and  should  find  his  pleasure  in  doing  so  is  a 
familiar  fact.  That  only  those  that  need  can 
really  use  is  also  common  experience. 

That  only  the  needy  can  reach  the  supply  and 
that  there  is  no  waste  in  the  spiritual  world  is  not 


Faith  in  God  77 

so  obviously  true.  This  is  ideal  and  reasonable, 
but  it  is  not  the  actual  plan  of  the  material  world. 
It  seems  to  be  a  law  in  the  things  of  the  spirit; 
and  this  is  illustrated,  if  not  proved,  by  the  uni- 
versal dramatic  sense  of  fitness  when  like  results 
are  seen  in  things  material — when  happiness  fol- 
lows heroism  and  disaster  befalls  the  rogue. 

In  the  things  of  the  spirit  God  gives  what  can 
be  used — to  those  who  will  receive.  His  blessing 
falls  like  rain  and  sun — but,  unlike  rain  and  sun, 
the  spiritual  blessings  only  fall  on  the  open  ground. 
Abundance  and  victory,  homes  and  harvests  were 
available  (as  symbols  of  God's  blessings)  to  the 
spirit-man.  But  they  were,  like  the  sun  and  rain, 
for  the  just  and  for  the  unjust,  for  the  faithful  and 
the  unfaithful.  The  things  of  the  spirit  are  not 
so. 

Like  laws  of  nature,  the  operation  of  faith's 
law  is  its  explanation.  The  Scriptures  vouchsafe 
no  other.  The  nature  of  the  faculty  indicates  at 
least  a  reason  for  the  bestowal  of  gifts  that  only  a 
childlike  heart  can  receive — a  reason,  too,  for  the 
Divine  favour,  the  Father's  pleasure  in  the  childlike 
child. 

As  an  active  and  impulsive  faculty  rather  than 
as  a  passive  belief  or  a  specific  trust,  it  is  compared 
and  associated  in  these  passages  with  patience  and 
wisdom  and  love  and  service  and  meekness  and 
temperance. 

Faith,  as  a  faculty  or  disposition  of  mind  and 


78  The  Law  of  Faith 

heart,  underlies  every  specific  trust  and  every 
specific  belief,  every  real  aspiration  and  hope, 
every  earnest  effort,  every  teachable  and  sub- 
missive thought.  It  is  the  centre  of  motion  and 
motive  power  of  man's  spiritual  life.  And  every 
form  of  human  trustfulness  and  trustworthiness 
is  perhaps  one  of  the  many  and  various  manifesta- 
tions of  that  comprehensive  faith,  by  which  alone 
the  spirit  grows  and  goes  forward — that  faith 
which  no  man  lacks  utterly — and  no  man  pos- 
sesses in  its  completeness. 

In  the  times  of  these  writings,  and  in  the  minds 
of  the  writers  and  readers  of  those  words,  there 
was  no  conflict  (as  there  is  often  now)  between  the 
teachable  and  faithful  spirit  and  the  unbelieving 
or  disbelieving  mind.  Practically  all  were  Jews 
and  all  believed  alike  about  God. 

In  like  manner,  in  the  days  of  those  writings, 
the  Jewish  people  trusted  as  a  people  the  God  of 
Israel — more  simply  and  literally  perhaps  than 
we  do  now — as  their  strong  deliverer,  whose  gifts 
were  visible  prosperity  and  victory.  If  they 
attributed  to  Him  their  victories  and  their  defeats, 
their  good  and  evil  days,  and  imagined  simple  and 
immediate  methods  of  His  action,  it  may  well  be 
that  the  world's  last  and  best  judgment  in  philo- 
sophy and  in  history  will  confirm  their  belief  in 
substance  and  leave  the  methods  still  unexplained. 

In  these  times  (if  there  may  be  sincere  and  faith- 
ful unbelief)  a  trustful  spirit  and  hunger  of  the 


Faith  in  God  79 

soul  and  faithful  effort  may  be  the  best  faith 
possible  to  faithful  "unbelievers" — working  in 
them,  unconfessed  and  unperceived,  that  attitude 
toward  the  unseen  One,  and  that  dependence  on 
Him,  which  is  true  faith.  Such  a  faith  seems  often 
to  be  working  out  the  same  "peaceable  fruits" 
that  the  happier  believer  reaches.  We  may  well 
believe  that  it  places  its  possessor  on  the  same  rock 
and  in  the  same  refuge,  in  which  "believers" 
rejoice  more  confidently. 

NOTES 

i.  i  Cor.  12:8,  9 — 2.  Ps.  36:17 — 3.  Ps.  13:5,  6 — 4.  Is. 
8:14,  17 — 5.  i  Tim.  6:17 — 6.  Ps.  9:10 — 7.  Ps.  40:2,  3 — 
8.  Ps.  91:  2 — 9.  Ps.  28:  7 — 10.  Is.  17:  7,  8 — ii.  Heb.  6: 12 — 
12.  Is.  26:3 — 13.  Ps.  2:12 — 14.  Ps.  34:8;  84:12 — 15. 
Ps.  40:4 — 16.  Prov.  16:20 — 17.  Prov.  28:25 — 18.  Ps. 
32:10 — 19.  Ruth  2:12 — 20.  Ps.  57:1 — 2Oa.  Ps.  31:19,20 — 
21.  Is.  28: 16—22.  Is.  57: 13 — 23.  Is.  58:  14 — 24.  Ps. 
34:22 — 25.  Ps.  4:5 — 26.  Heb.  11:4—27.  Heb.  11:5—28. 
Gal.  3:6—29.  Rom.  4:17 — 30.  Gal.  3:9 — 31.  Rom.  4: 14, 
16—32.  Gal.  3:8— 33.  Jude  20— 34.  Ps.  143:8— 35.  Rom. 
14:1—36.  John  11:40 — 37.  Rom.  11:30-32 — 38.  Heb.  13: 
7 — 39.  i  Pet.  1:7—40.  Rev.  2:19 — 41.  Matt.  8:26 — 42.  Mark 
4:  40;  Luke  8:  25 — 43.  Mark  17: 17;  Mark  9: 19;  Luke  9:  41— 
44.  Matt.  6:30;  Luke  12:28 — 45.  Matt.  23:23 — 46.  Heb. 
3:12—47.  Heb.  11:5—48.  Ps.  65:5—49.  Luke  17:5—50- 
James  1:6—51.  James  5:15 — 52.  Mark  11:22-24 — 53- 
Matt.  21:22 — 54.  Luke  18:8 — 55.  Gal.  5:22 — 56.  Prov. 
3:5 — 57-  2  Cor.  1:24 — 58.  Prov.  3:26—59.  i  Tim.  2:  15 — 
60.  Prov.  29:25 — 61.  Prov.  30:5 — 62.  Ps.  86:2 — 63.  Ps. 


8o  The  Law  of  Faith 

26:1 — 64.  Jer.  17:7 — 65.  Jer.  49:11 — 66.  Ps.  34:22—67. 
Ps.  125:1 — 68.  Isaiah  26:4 — 69.  Is.  14:32—70.  Is.  28: 16, 
17—71.  Jer.  39:18—72.  Ps.  115:9,  10,  11—73.  Ps.  78:21, 
22 — 74.  Heb.  3:12,  18,  19 — 75.  Heb.  4:3,  6,  11—76.  Jude 
5 — 77.  Dan.  3:  28 — 78.  Dan.  6:  23 — 79.  Ps.  u :  i — 80.  Ps.  64: 
10—81.  Ps.  71:5—82.  Ps.  141:8—83.  Ps.  37:40—84.  Ps. 
71:1—85.  Ps.  62:8—86.  Ps.  55:23—87.  Ps.  57:1—88. 
Job  13:15—89.  Ps.  22:4,  5 — 90.  i  Chron.  5:20 — 91.  2 
Sam.  22: 1-4 — 92.  2  Sam.  22:  31 — 93.  Ps.  7:  i — 94.  Ps.  17:  7 
—95.  Ps.  21 :  7—96.  Ps.  22 :  5—97.  Ps.  22 :  8—98.  Ps.  25 :  2, 
20 — 99.  Ps.  27:3—100.  Ps.  11:1— 101.  Ps.  52:8—102. 
Ps.  61:4—103.  Ps.  65:5— 104.  Ps.  91:4— 105.  Ps.  118:8, 
9 — 106.  Ps.  31:1—107.  Ps.  31:6—108.  Ps.  31:14—109. 
Ps.  31:19 — no.  Ps.  144:2 — in.  Ps.  73:28 — 112.  2  Chron. 
14:11 — 113.  2  Chron.  16:8 — 114.  2  Chron.  20:20 — 115.  2 
Kings  18:5— 1 16.  2  Kings  18:22;  Isaiah  36:  7— 117.  Is.  10:20 
— 118.  Is.  33:2 — 119.  Is.  50:10 — 120.  Nahum  1:7 — 121. 
Is.  51:5 — 122.  Zeph.  3:2 — 123.  2  Cor.  1:9,  10 — 124.  Eph. 
6:16—125.  Matt.  27:43 — 126.  Matt.  8:26;  Mark.  4:40; 
Luke  8:25 — 127.  Mark.  9:19 — 128.  Rom.  11:30-32;  Heb. 
3:12,  18,  19;  4:6,  n ;  6:12—129.  Ps.  33:22;  38:15;  39:7; 
42:  5,  n ;  43:  5;  130:  7;  Lam.  3: 24—130.  Ps.  33: 18—131.  Ps. 
130:  5—132.  Job  5: 16;  Ps.  71 : 14—133.  Jer.  14:  8;  17: 
13;  50* 7— 134.  Joel  3: 16—135.  Jer.  17:17. 


CHAPTER  VI 

FAITH   IN  GOD 
ITS   RELATION  TO  CONDUCT 

Faith  Is  the  Spirit  of  Obedience.  The  refusal 
to  hearken  to  God's  voice  for  all  the  signs  which 
He  showed  and  to  "believe"  Him  was  the  cause  of 
Israel's  disobedience  at  Kadesh  Barnea  (i).  In 
this  unbelief  lay  their  want  of  courage,  and  out  of 
it  came  their  rebellion  and  disaster. 

But  faith  is  no  substitute  for  obedience.  We 
are  to  "trust"  in  the  Lord  and  do  good,  to  cease 
from  anger,  to  depart  from  evil,  to  rest  in  the  Lord 
and  wait  patiently  for  Him  (2).  We  are  not  to 
make  void  the  law  through  "faith, "  but  to  confirm 
it,  acknowledging  its  authority  and  its  perfectness, 
while  we  fall  utterly  short  of  its  requirements  (3). 
Faith  has  no  life  without  active  goodness.  We 
are  to  walk  in  the  steps  as  well  as  in  the  confident 
"faith  "  of  faithful  Abraham,  if  we  are  to  be  children 
of  Abraham  (4).  We  are  to  maintain  good  works 
as  well  as  "believe"  in  God  (5).  Without  works 

N.  B. — The  notes  of  passages  referred  to  by  number  are  found 
at  the  end  of  the  chapter. 

6  81 


82  The  Law  of  Faith 

"faith"  is  dead.  It  can  be  seen  only  by  the 
works  it  leads  to.  A  true  belief  that  leads  to  no 
good  work  is  a  faith  without  vital  power.  Evil 
spirits  may  "believe"  without  hope;  and  men 
may  "believe"  without  mercy  (6). 

On  the  other  hand,  goodness  has  no  life  without 
life-giving  faith.  "Faith"  is  one  of  the  weightier 
matters  of  the  law  (7) — a  foundation — a  beginning 
to  learn  Christ  (8).  But  the  law  is  not  of  "faith" 
— it  requires  that  a  man  shall  do  its  requirements, 
not  that  he  shall  trust  in  God's  mercy  (9). 

And  there  will  never  be  a  sufficient  doing  of  ours 
to  give  us  before  God  a  good  servant's  place  or 
name.  We  must  find  a  child's  place  by  way  of  a 
child's  faith  in  God— seek  by  "faith"  and  be 
"justified  by  faith"— or  not  at  all  (10).  And 
spiritual  gifts  and  powers  of  God  will  work  in  His 
children  the  wonders  that  were  impossible  to  the 
best  of  servants.  The  child  has  the  "hearing  of 
faith"  and  in  his  faith  hears  what  God  says, 
receives  what  He  gives,  and  beholds  what  He 
works  (il). 

Faith  Is  the  Spirit  of   Sacrifice   and  Prayer. 

It  makes  the  difference  between  him  that  doeth 
well  and  him  whose  sacrifice  finds  no  acceptance. 
The  more  excellent  sacrifice  is  offered  by  "faith" 
(12) — with  humble  confession  and  childlike  thanks- 
giving and  expectation.  The  worshipper  lays  him- 
self with  his  sacrifice  in  his  devotion  at  God's  feet. 


Faith  in  God  83 

God  is  the  "confidence"  of  the  ends  of  the  earth 
and  all  men  turn  to  Him  (13).  Those  who  are 
desolate  "trust"  in  Him,  and  come  to  Him  in 
constant  prayer  (14).  The  natural  world,  the 
trees  and  mountains,  the  laws  of  nature,  are 
adjusted  to  the  will  of  their  Creator  and  the 
prayer  of  "faith"  in  Him  (15). 

Faith  Is  the  Spirit  of  Thanksgiving.  Those 
who  "believe"  should  take  God's  gifts  with  thank- 
fulness and  not  with  superstition  (16).  Men 
cannot  "trust"  in  riches,  but  in  God  who  gives 
things  richly  to  be  enjoyed  (17).  "Hope  in  God" 
inspires  our  praise  and  our  thanksgiving.  Though 
cast  down  and  disquieted  we  hope  in  Him  and 
praise  Him  (18) — not  forgetting  His  words  or 
His  commandments  (19). 

There  is  "hope"  when  we  sin  and  repent  (20). 
In  these  half-dozen  citations  the  hope- word  is  used 
in  English  in  translation  of  a  Hebrew  root  that  is 
in  some  other  places  rendered  by  the  usual  faith- 
word. 

Faith  Is  the  Spirit  of  Endurance  and  Sted- 
fastness.  It  is  the  breast-plate  of  our  armour 
(21).  We  are  to  hold  ' '  the  profession  of  our  faith ' ' 
without  wavering  (22).  We  are  to  be  "stedfast 
in  the  faith"  to  resist  the  adversary  of  our  souls 
(23).  We  are  to  contend  for,  and  maintain,  "the 
faith,"  as  it  was  given  to  us — a  trust  in  God's 


84  The  Law  of  Faith 

mercy  and  a  submission  to  His  will  (24).  A  faith 
wilfully  and  consciously  reduced  or  changed  is  no 
real  faith.  A  corrupt  mind  and  a  love  of  self 
make  men  "reprobate"  concerning  the  faith — 
their  faith  unfit  to  stand  the  test  of  fire  (25). 

We  are  willing  to  labour  and  suffer  because  we 
"  trust "  in  God  the  Saviour  (26).  The  minister 
of  Christ  must  be  the  "believer's"  example  in 
"faith"  (27).  If  we  do  not  fall  like  others,  it  is 
"by  faith"  in  God  and  by  His  strength  we  stand 
(28).  Like  others  we  face  death,  but  our  faith 
gives  confidence,  that  even  in  death's  great  sepa- 
ration we  shall  be  more  completely  in  God's 
presence,  for  we  walk  by  "faith"  (29). 

Faith   Is   the    Spirit   of   Patriotism.    It    was 

Hezekiah's  "trust"  in  God  that  roused  the 
people  in  the  face  of  the  overwhelming  hosts  of 
Assyria,  and  finally  saw  those  hosts  smitten  by 
God  (30).  There  was  "hope"  in  Israel  in  Ezra's 
time  and  it  reformed  the  people  (31). 

Faith  Is  the  Spirit  of  Brotherhood.  Those  who 
"believe"  must  take  care  of  their  own  families 
if  they  would  not  "deny  the  faith"  (32).  They 
must  not  leave  to  the  care  of  the  church  the  weak 
members  of  their  own  households  (33).  Their 
abounding  in  "faith"  toward  God  meant  abound- 
ing in  help  to  the  poor  and  the  afflicted  (34). 
Without  love  "faith"  is  nothing  (35).  They  that 


Faith  in  God  85 

" believe"  must  not  contend  with  the  "unbeliev- 
ing" in  their  own  households  (36) — much  less 
"before  the  unbelievers"  in  courts  (37).  They 
must  bear  even  with  unbelief  in  their  own  homes, 
and  expect  their  faith  to  beget  faith. 


Faith  Makes  Men  Witnesses  for  God.  They 
are  exhibitors  of  His  power  and  goodness — a  cloud 
of  inspired  runners  swept  across  life's  arena  by  the 
wind  of  God's  Spirit  (38).  Faith  is  the  measure  of 
our  power  to  make  the  gospel  known.  And  all 
helpful  gifts  are  "  according  to  the  proportion  of 
faith"  (39).  Believers  become  an  example  to 
all,  when  the  word  sounds  out  from  them  and 
spreads  their  "faith  toward  God"  abroad  every- 
where (40).  The  adverse  powers  of  disease  (41), 
and  of  nature  (42)  are  made  subject  to  men  by 
faith.  Failure  is  due  to  ' '  unbelief. ' '  Signs ' '  follow 
them  that  believe. " 

In  full  assurance  of  faith  men  come  to  God  as 
sinners  that  are  forgiven  (43) — by  a  new  way  (44) 
and  a  new  priest  (45).  His  pleasure  is  in  those 
that  draw  near  and  "live  by  faith" — not  in  those 
that  draw  back  (46).  Those  that  draw  near  find 
a  Saviour  and  only  those. 

It  is  by  faith  that  we  lay  hold  of  what  we  hope 
for — "faith  is  the  substance"  of  all  hope  (47). 
By  faith  we  discover  what  we  cannot  see  (48) .  So, 
men  of  old  were  attested  and  made  witnesses  to 
show  God's  powers  and  wisdom  (49) — a  display 


86  The  Law  of  Faith 

of  God's  grace  that  reaches  through  all  history  and 
is  found  in  all  sorts  of  men  and  all  forms  of  faith. 
Faith  in  God  made  men  able  to  understand  that  He 
created  all  things  (50).  It  taught  Abel  how  to 
come  to  God  in  sacrifice  (51) — and  Enoch  to  walk 
with  Him  (52),  and  know  the  Living  One  and  the 
Redeemer.  It  made  Noah  hear  God's  warning 
when  others  could  not,  and  prepare  while  others 
mocked  (53) .  It  made  Abraham  see  the  land  that 
was  far  off  and  the  great  people  that  should  spring 
from  him — himself  as  good  as  dead — his  only  son 
received  back  from  the  dead  (54).  It  made  Isaac 
and  Jacob  and  Joseph  carry  forward  the  promise 
and  the  blessing  concerning  things  to  come  (55). 
It  made  Moses  see  the  Invisible  One  and  the  riches 
of  His  Christ,  brought  by  Him  to  men  even  before 
they  knew  His  name  and  before  He  was  manifest 
in  earthly  life  (56).  It  broke  down  the  enemy's 
defences  before  Joshua  and  his  hosts  (57).  By  it 
the  heathen  Rahab  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  mighty 
God  of  Israel  in  the  victories  of  His  people  (58). 
It  made  the  fierce  judges  of  Israel  in  early  days 
(59),  and  the  victims  and  sufferers  among  God's 
people  in  all  days,  see  His  hand  in  their  victories 
and  defeats  and  distresses  and  deaths.  Faith  put 
the  future  into  their  hands,  and  the  unknown  into 
their  minds,  and  made  pilgrims  and  heroes  of 
common  men.  The  great  company  is  not  yet 
complete  (60) — the  great  race  not  yet  run  by  all — 
and  Christ  is  the  source  ("the  author")  and  the 


Faith  in  God  87 

sustainer  and  re  warder  ("the  finisher")  of  the 
"faith"  of  all  (61) — Himself  faith's  greatest  wit- 
ness, who  for  the  joy  that  was  set  before  Him — 
endured  the  cross. 

In  some  of  these  passages  the  faith  or  belief 
may,  from  indications  in  the  context,  refer  to  a 
belief  of  the  gospel  preached  (62) — or,  in  one  case, 
a  belief  of  the  truth  about  meats  offered  to  idols 
(63).  Or  it  may  refer  to  the  gospel  truth  as  "the 
faith"  contended  for  (64). 

And  some,  where  the  near  context  relates  to 
Christ,  may  refer  to  faith  or  trust  in  Christ  rather 
than  to  faith  in  God  (65). 

In  most  of  the  Old  Testament  passages  cited 
in  this  chapter  God  is  named  or  plainly  indicated 
as  the  object  of  faith.  But  often  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment and  especially  in  the  great  faith-chapter  in 
Hebrews  no  person  is  named.  The  context, 
however,  speaks  of  God's  house — His  new  way — 
His  high  priest — His  faithful  promises.  He  is  the 
judge — the  Coming  One — the  vision  longed  for — 
the  creating  Word — the  testimony — the  attesting 
witness  in  man — the  living  One — the  rewarder— 
the  invisible  One — who  prepared  a  great  people, 
and  prepared  a  city  for  them,  and  called  Himself 
their  God. 

Their  afflictions  and  losses  were  the  reproach  of 
His  Christ.  He  that  destroyed  the  first-born 
in  Egypt — that  made  a  path  through  the  sea  and 


88  The  Law  of  Faith 

the  wilderness — that  overthrew  the  walled  cities 
and  strong  peoples  of  Canaan — was  the  One,  whose 
law  and  promises  and  mighty  power  stimulated 
their  faith — toward  whom  their  faith  looked — 
and  on  whom  it  rested. 

For  these  believers  faith  must  have  had  a  specific 
and  limited  meaning.  It  must  have  been  a  con- 
fidence in  God's  power — a  trust  in  His  promises 
and  His  deliverance — and  a  submission  to  His 
law  (with  sacrifices,  if  not  with  obedience). 
This  confidence  could  be  shared  by  people  of 
limited  knowledge  and  various  beliefs — who  be- 
lieved like  heathen  in  the  existence  and  power 
of  Jehovah  and  of  the  gods  of  other  nations  also. 
And  it  was  shared  by  men  of  violence  and  lust  like 
Samson,  by  rash  and  thoughtless  men  like  Jephthae 
and  by  all  the  great  captains  and  rulers  of  Israel. 

Faith  in  God  leads  toward  obedience,  endurance, 
and  achievement.  Like  faithfulness  its  work  is 
seen  of  men  and  honoured.  But  fidelity  looks 
always  toward  a  duty,  perhaps  not  toward  a  mas- 
ter. On  the  other  hand,  faith  looks  toward  a 
Lord  that  is  trusted.  It  is  a  personal  confidence, 
enthusiasm,  and  love — the  following  of  a  captain 
— rather  than  the  facing  of  a  duty. 

In  both  there  is  involved  "the  evidence  of  things 
not  seen" — the  "seeing  of  Him  who  is  invisible." 
And  when  this  personal  Lord — or  this  impersonal 
law  of  duty — is  lost  from  sight,  there  remains 


Faith  in  God  89 

nothing  but  conduct.  The  works  remain,  but 
they  are  always  dead,  for  they  are  always 
incomplete. 

Faith  is  a  strong  stimulant  to  good  deeds.  The 
trust  in  an  almighty  defender  and  refuge — a  wise 
and  just  judge — a  constant  and  loving  provider 
and  father — has  proved  a  stronger  motive  power 
in  the  world's  good  works  than  any  human  desire 
or  passion.  It  is  universal  in  its  application  to 
all  ages  and  people.  It  is  available  in  all  times 
and  conditions  of  human  life.  It  is  enduring  and 
has  stood  the  test  of  countless  personal  experiences 
and  of  long  and  varied  history. 

The  strongest  desires  and  passions  that  move 
men — hunger,  love,  hatred,  ambition — lead  to 
evil  deeds  as  well  as  good.  Trust  in  God  leads 
only  toward  the  good — always  acting  with  or 
against  our  other  desires  and  passions,  victorious 
in  good  or  overcome  in  evil. 

Faith  in  God  has  at  times  been  overcome  by 
national  or  individual  love  of  ease  and  degenerated 
into  fatalism.  It  then  loses  its  character  as  an 
incentive  to  work,  while  retaining  or  increasing 
its  force  in  promoting  a  spirit  of  resignation  or 
contentment.  This  resting  on  faith  and  disobey- 
ing its  call  to  work  or  battle  has  never  been  sup- 
ported by  the  authority  of  the  Scriptures,  and -is 
often  a  mere  pretext  for  indolence  or  cowardice. 

Faith  in  God,  like  belief,  may  fail  in  this  way 
or  another  to  show  its  life  and  fruit  in  works  of 


90  The  Law  of  Faith 

goodness.  Such  faith,  like  such  belief,  is  unreal 
and  dead.  But  it  has  never  been  said  in  Scrip- 
ture to  belong,  as  certain  beliefs  may  do,  to  devils 
as  well  as  men. 

As  in  faithfulness,  so  in  the  faith  that  trusts,  the 
doer  of  the  works  is  not  the  man,  but  the  outside 
Power  that  he  obeys  or  trusts.  It  is  God  that 
achieves  by  the  man  that  He  directs  and  guides 
and  strengthens.  If  this  is  only  the  reflex  action 
of  the  man's  faith,  then  that  is  God's  way  and  His 
law  of  the  spirit  and  His  work.  We  cannot  tell 
the  method — or  the  laws  and  their  co-operation. 
We  cannot  tell  where  God's  spirit  comes  or  goes. 
Nor  have  we  yet  learned  where  all  the  winds  blow, 
and  that  is  a  much  simpler  learning. 

NOTES 

i.  Numb.  14:11;  Deut.  i :  32 ;  9 :  23 — 2.  Ps.  37 :  3—3.  Rom. 
3:31 — 4.  Rom.  4:12 — 5.  Tit.  3:8 — 6.  James  2:14-26 — 
7.  Matt.  23 :  23— 8.  Heb.6:i — 9.  Gal.  3:12—10.  Rom.  3: 28; 
9:32—11.  Gal.  3:5—12.  Heb.  11:4—13.  Ps.  65:2,  5—14. 
i  Tim.  5:5—15.  Matt.  21:21;  Mark  11:22—16.  i  Tim.  4:3 
—17.  i  Tim.  6:17—18.  Ps.  42:5,  11;  43:5;  71:5,  14—19- 
Ps.  78  :  7 — 20.  Ezra  10  :  2 — 21.  i  Thess.  5  :  8 — 22.  Heb. 
10:23—23.  i  Pet.  5:9—24.  Jude  3—25.  2  Tim.  3:8—26. 
i  Tim.  4: 10 — 27.  i  Tim.  4: 12—28.  2  Cor.  i:  24— 29.  2  Cor. 
5:7—30.  2  Kings  18:5;  2  Cor.  32:10;  Is.  37:10—31. 
Ezra  10:2—32.  i  Tim.  5:8—33.  i  Tim.  5:16—34.  2  Cor. 
8:7—35-  i  Cor.  13:2—36.  i  Cor.  7:12-15—37.  i  Cor. 
6:6—38.  Heb.  11:2;  12:1—39.  Rom-  12:6—40.  i  Thess. 


Faith  in  God  91 

1:7,  8 — 41.  Mark  16:17;  1T-  X7 — 42-  Matt.  17:20;  Luke 
I7:5»  6 — 43-  Heb.  10:  18,  22 — 44.  Heb.  10:20 — 45.  Heb. 
10:21—46.  Heb.  10:38,  39 — 47.  Heb.  n:  I — 48.  Heb.  n:  I 
— 49.  Heb.  11:2,  39;  12:1 — 50.  Heb.  11:3 — 51.  Heb.  11:4 
—52.  Heb.  ii:5—53.  Heb.  11:7—54.  Heb.  11:8-19—55. 
Heb.  11:20-22—56.  Heb.  11:23-28—57.  Heb.  11:29,  30 — 
58.  Heb.  11:31 — 59.  Heb.  11:32,  33 — 60.  Heb.  11:40 — 
61.  Heb.  12:2 — 62.  Mark  16:17 — 63.  i  Tim.  4:3 — 64. 
Jude  3—65.  Rom.  9:  32;  Gal.  3:5;!  Thess.  1 :  7,  8;  5:  8;  I  Tim. 
5:16. 


CHAPTER  VII 

FAITH  IN  GOD 
ITS  RELATION  TO  MIND  AND  CHARACTER 

The  Relation  of  Trust  in  God  to  Human 
Character.  It  is  a  reason  for  courage.  David 
"believed  to  see"  the  goodness  of  the  Lord 
(i).  In  God  he  had  "put  his  trust"  (2).  A 
righteous  man's  heart  is  fixed,  "trusting  in  the 
Lord"  (3).  The  Lord  strengthens  the  hearts  of 
those  that  "trust"  in  Him  (4).  Great  men  of  old 
died  "in  faith"  not  having  received  the  promises, 
but  having  seen  them  afar  off  (5).  The  Psalmist 
"believed"  and  proclaimed  that  God  had  delivered 
his  soul  from  death  (6).  The  disciples  having  the 
same  "spirit  of  faith,"  "believe"  and  speak  of  a 
coming  resurrection  (7).  They  "walk  by  faith." 
They  are  "confident"  and  willing  to  be  absent 
from  the  body,  and  to  be  present  with  the  Lord  (8). 
In  the  storm  the  disciples  were  fearful  for  they 
were  "of  little  faith"  (9).  They  had  "no  faith" 
(10).  Where  was  their  "faith"?  (11).  In  the 

N.  B. — The  notes  of  passages  referred  to  by  number  are  found 
at  the  end  of  the  chapter. 

92 


Faith  in  God  93 

Adriatic  Paul  "believed"  God,  that  it  should  be  as 
it  was  told  him  in  the  vision  (12). 

In  Christ's  words,  if  God  clothed  the  perishable 
grass,  would  He  not  much  more  clothe  them,  the 
men  "of  little  faith"?  (13). 

Faith  in  God  is  a  reason  for  joy  and  for  human 
confidence  even  against  reason.  And  faith  is  a 
comfort  in  sorrow. 

Abraham  against  hope  "believed"  in  hope. 
And  being  not  weak  "in  faith,"  he  staggered  not 
at  the  promise  of  God  "through  unbelief";  but 
was  "strong  in  faith,"  giving  glory  to  God  (14). 
Let  those  that  "put  their  trust  in  Thee"  rejoice: 
let  them  shout  for  joy :  let  them  be  joyful  in  Thee. 
(15).  Our  hearts  shall  rejoice  in  Him,  because 
we  have  "trusted  in  His  holy  name  (16).  The 
jailer  brought  Paul  and  Silas  into  his  house,  set 
meat  before  them,  and  rejoiced,  "believing  in 
God  "  (17).  Apostles  are  helpers  of  their  converts' 
joy:  for  "by  faith"  they  stand  (18).  The  "un- 
believing" husband  is  sanctified  by  the  wife,  and 
the  "unbelieving"  wife  is  sanctified  by  the  husband 
(19).  Paul  would  be  filled  with  joy,  when  he 
called  to  remembrance  the  unfeigned  "faith"  of 
Timothy  (20).  The  desolate  widow  "trusts" 
in  God  (21).  Was  it  not  Job's  "confidence"  and 
' '  hope  "  in  his  affliction  ?  (22) .  The  covetous  have 
erred  from  "the  faith,"  and  pierced  themselves 
through  with  many  sorrows  (23). 


94  The  Law  of  Faith 


Faith  in  God  and  in  Christ  are  one.  Jesus 
said  to  His  followers:  He  that  "believeth"  on  me 
"believeth"  not  on  me,  but  on  him  that  sent  me 
(24).  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled:  ye  "be- 
lieve" in  God,  "believe"  also  in  me  (25). 


Faith  makes  a  man  patient  in  the  assurance  of 
victory — and  humble  and  simple-minded.  Afflic- 
tion makes  him  trustful. 

The  trying  of  "your  faith"  worketh  patience 
(26).  He  that  leadeth  into  captivity  shall  go  into 
captivity:  he  that  killeth  must  be  killed.  Here  is 
the  patience  and  "the  faith"  of  the  saints  (27). 
We  ought  to  think  soberly,  according  as  God  has 
dealt  to  every  man  the  measure  of  "faith"  (28). 
Boasting  is  excluded  by  the  law  of  "faith"  (29). 
Our  faith  is  not  to  be  with  respect  to  persons  (30). 
The  rich  are  not  to  be  high-minded,  but  are  to 
"  trust  in  God  "  the  giver  (31).  We  walk  "by  faith  " 
(32) .  We  ' '  believe ' '  and  therefore  speak  (33) . 

With  a  meek  and  quiet  spirit,  women  who 
" trusted  in  God"  adorned  themselves  (34).  And 
the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses  and  Aaron,  Because 
"ye  believed  me  not"  therefore  ye  shall  not  bring 
this  congregation  into  the  land  which  I  have  given 
them  (35). 

In  our  midst  there  shall  always  be  an  afflicted 
and  poor  people  and  they  shall  "trust"  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord  (36). 

Faith  in  God  is  associated  with  the  love  of  man 


Faith  in  God  95 

and  is  one  of  its  chief  sources.  It  is  the  bond  of 
Christian  brotherhood,  of  Christian  marriage, 
and  Christian  service — for  we  are  all  one  family 
in  Christ. 

Though  I  have  all  "  faith, "  and  have  not 
charity,  I  am  nothing  (37).  And  now  abideth 
" faith,"  hope,  charity,  these  three;  but  the 
greatest  of  these  is  charity  (38).  The  breast-plate 
of  "faith"  and  love  (39).  The  purpose  of  the  law 
is  that  love  which  proceeds  from  a  pure  heart,  a 
good  conscience,  and  sincere  "faith"  (40).  Christ 
shares  men's  faith  and  calls  them  brethren,  Saying, 
I  will  "put  my  trust  in  Him" — I  and  the  children 
which  God  hath  given  me  (41).  Greet  them  that 
love  us  in  "the  faith"  (42).  And  they  that  have 
"believing  masters,"  let  them  not  despise  them, 
because  they  are  brethren;  but  rather  do  them 
service,  because  they  are  "faithful"  and  beloved 
(43).  Be  ye  not  unequally  yoked  together  with 
"  unbelievers  " :  What  part  hath  he  that "  believeth  " 
with  an  "infidel"?  (44). 

Faith  is  joined  in  Christian  aim  and  example 
with  all  manner  of  goodness.  By  it  believers  are 
built  up.  A  man  may  have  the  form  of  godliness 
but  not  stand  the  test  of  faith. 

Thou  hast  fully  known  my  doctrine,  manner 
of  life,  purpose,  "faith,"  long-suffering,  charity, 
patience  (45) .  Be  thou  an  example  of  the  believers 
in  word,  in  conversation,  in  charity,  in  spirit,  "in 


96  The  Law  of  Faith 

faith, "  in  purity  (46).  Follow  after  righteousness, 
godliness,  " faith,"  love,  patience,  meekness  (47). 
Flee  also  youthful  lusts;  but  follow  righteousness, 
"faith,"  charity,  peace  (48).  Let  aged  men  be 
sober,  grave,  temperate,  "sound  in  faith,"  in 
charity,  in  patience  (49).  Mothers  shall  be  saved 
in  child-bearing,  if  they  continue  "in  faith,"  and 
charity,  and  holiness,  with  sobriety  (50).  Unto 
them  that  are  defiled  and  "unbelieving"  nothing 
is  pure  (51).  Men  that  coveted  after  money  have 
"erred  from  the  faith"  (52). 

Needless  disputations  minister  questions,  rather 
than  godly  edifying  "which  is  in  faith"  (53). 
Christ's  beloved  are  to  build  up  themselves  on 
their  "most  holy  faith"  (54). 

Whatever  is  not  "of  faith"  is  sin  (55).  "The 
hope  of  Israel"  is  as  a  stranger  in  the  land  (56). 
We  have  sinned,  Men  may  have  the  form  of 
godliness,  never  coming  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth  and  reprobate  concerning  the  "faith"  (57). 

The  Relation  of  Trust  in  God  to  Human  Intel- 
ligence. Faith  rests  on  wisdom — on  the  know- 
ledge of  God's  existence, — of  His  goodness,  His 
mighty  power, — of  the  light  from  Heaven, — of  the 
Messiah  of  God,  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  the 
power  that  raised  up  Christ,  and  made  us  share 
His  resurrection. 

Hear  the  words  of  the  wise,  and  apply  thine  heart 
unto  my  knowledge,  that  thy  "trust"  may  be  in 


Faith  in  God  97 

the  Lord  (58).  Ye  are  my  servant  whom  I  have 
chosen:  that  ye  may  know  and  "believe"  me, 
and  understand  that  I  am  He:  before  me  there 
was  no  God  formed,  neither  shall  there  be  after 
me  (59).  He  that  cometh  to  God  must  "believe" 
that  He  is,  and  that  He  is  a  rewarder  of  them  that 
diligently  seek  Him  (60).  That  your  "faith" 
should  not  stand  in  the  wisdom  of  men,  but  in 
the  power  of  God  (61).  You,  who  "believe"  in 
God,  that  raised  Christ  from  the  dead;  that  your 
"faith"  and  hope  might  be  in  God  (62).  Having 
boldness  to  enter  into  the  holiest  by  the  blood  of 
Jesus,  let  us  draw  near  in  "full  assurance  of  faith" 
(63).  If  ye  "believe"  not  that  I  am  He,  ye  shall 
die  in  your  sins  (64) .  We  ' '  believe, "  and  therefore 
speak ;  knowing  that  He  which  raised  up  the  Lord 
Jesus,  shall  raise  up  also  us  by  Jesus,  and  shall 
present  us  with  you  (65). 

Rabshakeh  urged  the  Jews  not  to  let  Hezekiah 
make  them  "trust "in  the  Lord  (66);  and  never 
to  let  their  God  in  whom  they  "trusted"  deceive 
them  (67). 

"Faith"  comes  by  hearing,  and  hearing  by  the 
word  of  God  (68).  Tongues  are  for  a  sign,  not  to 
them  that  "believe,"  but  to  them  that  "believe 
not":  but  prophesying  serves  not  for  them  that 
"believe  not,"  but  for  them  which  "believe"  (69). 
If  all  prophesy,  and  there  come  in  one  that  "be- 
lieves not, "  he  is  convinced  (70).  He  that  leadeth 
into  captivity  shall  go  into  captivity :  he  that  killeth 


98  The  Law  of  Faith 

with  the  sword,  must  be  killed  with  the  sword.  Here 
is  the  patience  and  the  "  faith  "  of  the  saints  (71). 

Timothy  was  to  commit  what  he  heard  to 
"faithful"  men,  able  to  teach  (72).  Some  pro- 
fessing oppositions  of  science  falsely  so  called  have 
erred  concerning  the  "faith"  (73).  Others,  deny- 
ing the  resurrection,  overthrow  "the  faith "  of  some 
(74).  False  teachers  are  to  be  rebuked  sharply, 
that  they  may  be  sound  in  "the  faith"  (75). 

God  is  faithful  though  we  are  not.  Faith  finds 
in  Christ  its  birth  and  its  completion.  He  is  the 
object  of  the  life  of  faith. 

What  if  some  did  not  "believe"  ?  Shall  their 
1 '  unbelief ' '  make  the ' '  faith ' '  of  God  without  effect  ? 
(76).  Let  us  run  with  patience  the  race  that  is 
set  before  us,  looking  unto  Jesus  the  author  and 
finisher  of  our  "faith"  who,  for  the  joy  that  was 
set  before  Him,  endured  the  cross,  despising  the 
shame,  and  is  set  down  at  the  right  hand  of  the 
throne  of  God  (77). 

Remember  them  which  have  the  rule  over  you, 
who  have  spoken  unto  you  the  word  of  God :  whose 
"faith"  follow,  considering  the  end  of  their 
conversation:  Jesus  Christ  the  same  yesterday, 
and  to-day  and  forever  (78). 

By  faith  the  Gospel  works  effectually  in  us  and 
works  salvation.  Want  of  faith  is  blindness  to  the 
light. 


Faith  in  God  99 

Ye  are  the  epistle  of  Christ  written  by  the  Spirit 
of  God  in  the  tables  of  the  heart.  Such  "trust" 
have  we  through  Christ  toward  God  (79).  Ye 
received  the  word  that  was  preached  not  as  the 
word  of  men,  but  as  the  word  of  God,  which  works 
effectually  in  you  that  "believe"  (80).  By  the 
gospel  we  are  saved,  unless  we  have  "believed"  in 
vain  (81).  The  god  of  this  world  has  blinded  the 
minds  of  them  that  "believe  not"  (82). 

Faith  is  a  means  of  knowledge  of  hidden  things — 
a  means  of  understanding — a  revealer  of  God's 
plan  of  righteousness.  And  sometimes  it  is  the 
condition  of  knowledge  that  lies  beyond  the  reach 
of  our  experience,  where  our  senses  fail.  It  does 
not,  however,  clear  up  the  whole  mystery  of 
life. 

"Faith"  is  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen  (83). 
Through  "faith"  we  understand  that  the  worlds 
were  framed  by  the  word  of  God,  so  that  things 
which  are  seen  were  not  made  of  things  which  do 
appear  (84). 

In  the  gospel  the  righteousness  of  God  is  revealed 
"from  faith  to  faith "  (85) .  The  Gentiles  attained 
to  the  righteousness  of  "faith."  Israel  did  not 
attain  because  they  sought  it  not  by  "faith"  (86). 
Jesus  said  to  Martha  that  if  she  would  "believe" 
she  should  see  the  glory  of  God  (87).  And  Jesus 
said  to  Thomas,  Because  thou  hast  seen  me,  thou 
hast  "believed":  blessed  are  they  that  have  not 


ioo  The  Law  of  Faith 

seen,  and  yet  "have  believed"  (88).  Job  was 
troubled.  Where  was  his  fear,  his  confidence,  his 
hope?  (89). 

Fear  of  God  leads  to  confidence  in  Him.  And 
he  that  does  not  trust  Him  cannot  believe  what 
He  has  said. 

In  the  fear  of  the  Lord  is  strong  "confidence": 
and  His  children  shall  have  a  place  of  refuge  (90). 
He  that  "believes"  in  God's  Son  has  in  himself 
God's  witness:  he  that  "believes"  not  God,  makes 
Him  a  liar,  because  he  does  not  "believe"  the 
record  that  God  gave  of  His  Son  (91). 

Among  the  passages  here  cited  some  may  easily 
be  understood  as  presenting  a  different  form  of 
faith.  Thus  "the  faith  of  our  Lord"  (92)  may 
refer  to  Christ's  faithfulness  or  our  faithfulness 
derived  from  Him.  So,  "Faith "  (93)  and  "Faith- 
ful" (94)  may  mean  the  faithfulness  of  a  disciple. 
"Faith"  (95),  "The  Faith"  (96),  and  "Your  most 
holy  Faith"  (97)  may  refer  to  the  believer's  creed. 
"Believe"  (98),  "Faith"  (99),  and  "Believing" 
(ioo)  may  refer  to  beliefs  about  Christ.  The 
passage  in  Heb.  xi.,  6,  seems  to  speak  of  a  truth 
believed  about  God,  but  the  original  Greek  may 
mean  either,  and  the  Vulgate  follows  the  idea  that 
the  man  believes  because  God  is  and  because  He 
is  the  rewarder  of  them  that  seek  Him.  "Be- 
lieved to  see"  (101)  is  rather  the  expectation  of  an 


Faith  in  God  101 

event  and  Paul's  "believed  God  that  it  should  be" 
(102)  is  that  and  a  trust  in  God. 

Many  passages,  where  no  object  is  named,  may 
be  referred  as  well  to  trust  in  Christ,  e.g.,  "Believe " 
(103)— "Faith"  (104)— "Faithful"  (105). 

In  preparing  and  arming  the  children  of  light 
for  the  Lord's  Day  faith  and  love  are  the  "breast- 
plate"— in  double  strength — the  confidence  of 
faith  and  the  endurance  and  passion  of  love. 

In  holy  confidence  believers  are  built  up  together 
into  a  holy  temple — and  in  that  confidence  in  God 
they  are  bound  together  by  love. 

The  conviction  that  God  lives  and  that  He  is 
merciful  and  knows  our  way  and  the  confidence 
in  Him  and  in  His  goodness  and  His  justice  have 
proved  themselves  to  be  a  substantial  comfort  in 
sorrow — however  they  may  seem  to  fail  even  a  man 
like  Job  in  the  first  sharpness  of  his  own  misery 
and  in  the  mental  effort  to  solve  the  mystery  of 
suffering. 

Desires  grow  into  hopes,  hopes  grow  into  expec- 
tation and  confidence,  and  all  this  living  growth 
is  faith.  Expectation  is  stronger  than  mere  desire 
or  hope.  It  is  more  definite  and  more  effective, 
for  it  looks  to  the  means  of  attaining,  and  to  the 
maker  and  giver  of  the  desired  thing. 

And  it  would  be  surprising,  if  confidence  in  God 
were  not  connected  closely  with  those  great  traits 
of  character  that  urge  a  man  forward  and  make 


102  The  Law  of  Faith 

him  stedfast — his  courage  and  cheerfulness  and 
patience.  In  the  Bible  they  are  frequently  asso- 
ciated. Such  association  is  reasonable  and  com- 
mon, and  the  want  of  such  traits  in  a  believer  is 
matter  of  comment.  In  common  judgment  a 
man  without  courage  and  without  patience  is  a 
man  with  little  or  no  faith  in  God. 

In  like  manner  there  is  a  rational  as  well  as  a 
Scriptural  connection  between  faith  in  One  that 
is  mighty  and  deep  personal  humility:  and  be- 
tween faith  in  one  Father  and  love  for  many 
brethren. 

The  connection  between  faith  in  God,  His  faith- 
fulness toward  us,  and  our  faithfulness  in  word  and 
deed  has  been  already  spoken  of.  Faith  begets 
in  us  all  the  great  elemental  traits  of  lofty  and 
godlike  character:  sincerity,  faithfulness,  courage, 
patience,  humility,  and  love. 

And  faith  is  as  closely  related  to  intelligence  as 
to  character.  This  is  the  common  experience  of 
all  progress  in  learning .  The  reliance  upon  author- 
ity, upon  past  records,  upon  common  physical  pro- 
cesses that  we  call  laws,  and  upon  our  own  mental 
operations,  involves  faith  at  every  step.  It  is  the 
very  faculty  by  which  evidence  is  weighed  and  facts 
acknowledged  and  falsehoods  rejected.  If  faith 
does  not  rest  on  facts,  it  is  delusion.  If  it  resists 
the  facts,  it  is  mental  unsoundness — and  unbelief. 
The  Scriptures  are  full  of  warning  against  false  con- 
fidence in  men  and  things.  Trust  in  God,  which 


Faith  in  God  103 

seems  to  be  the  highest  expression  and  form  of 
faith,  should  call  forth  and  promote  our  best 
intelligence,  reaching  out  toward  the  facts  that  are 
most  unreachable,  weighing  the  countless  things 
in  the  material  world  and  in  human  life  and  in 
prophetic  foresight.  These  give  some  evidence 
of  things  not  seen,  of  the  existence  and  the  great- 
ness and  the  goodness  of  the  mysterious  Power, 
by  which  we  live  and  move  and  have  our  being. 
If  there  are  any  means  of  knowledge  of  God,  if 
any  degree  of  knowledge  of  the  Unknown  is 
possible  to  man,  no  other  enlightenment  can  be 
called  Light  in  comparison  with  that  knowledge. 
So  far  as  faith  pursues  that  knowledge  and  pro- 
motes it,  it  leads  the  human  mind  into  the  light. 
Without  the  aspiration  and  the  vision  there  is  no 
progress.  And  this  is  as  true  of  knowledge  and 
understanding  as  of  any  advances  in  philosophy 
or  civilisation.  Something  goes  before  knowledge 
in  the  history  of  the  child  and  of  the  race.  Hunger 
— desire — hope — and  effort  are  the  beginnings  of 
faith.  We  try  and  we  trust  and  we  go  forward 
to  learn  and  know.  One  whose  vision  reaches  out 
toward  God,  as  he  comes  unto  Him,  as  he  walks 
(like  Enoch)  in  communion  with  Him,  must  have 
learned  already  that  He  is  the  living  one  and  the 
rewarder — must  trust  Him  (the  Vulgate  says) 
because  He  is  and  is  the  rewarder.  And  in  the 
earlier  approaches,  the  child's  first  steps,  a  man 
learns  to  "understand"  that  he  and  all  things 


104  The  Law  of  Faith 

are  the  work  of  His  mighty  hand.  So,  too,  a 
child  knows  his  father  and  trusts  his  power 
before  he  knows  what  "father"  means. 

The  faith  here  spoken  of  is  "trust  in  God,"  the 
outgrowth  of  the  heart's  desires  and  affections — 
and  not  the  action  of  the  mind,  the  belief,  which  is 
the  outgrowth  of  the  observations  and  reflections 
of  the  mind.  The  relation  of  such  faith  to  such 
belief,  and  the  closeness  of  that  relation,  and 
indeed  of  all  the  functions  of  what  we  call  heart 
and  mind,  have  long  been  recognised.  Faith  and 
belief  act  upon  and  support  and  stimulate  each 
other.  The  precise  form  and  the  energy  of  each 
and  their  relative  strength  are  dependent,  how- 
ever, on  many  forces  that  make  up  the  individual 
man.  They  cannot  be  measured  by  any  material 
formula  prescribing  so  much  faith  for  so  much 
belief — nor  even  so  much  faith  for  so  much  desire, 
so  much  belief  for  so  much  knowledge.  Analysis 
is  an  essential  process  in  the  study  of  a  subject, 
but  it  often  misleads  the  student  into  weighing 
and  choosing  as  separate  things  the  different 
features  and  aspects  of  one  thing.  Perhaps  it  is 
so  with  that  many-sided  thing  that  we  call  "  faith.'* 

The  relation  of  our  beliefs  about  God  to  our 
faith  in  God  is  perhaps  more  like  a  child's  belief 
and  trust  in  his  father  than  we  are  willing  to 
acknowledge.  A  logical  system  of  cause  and 
effect  may  not  be  able  to  arrange  the  facts  in  any 
consecutive  order.  A  child  does  not  contemplate 


Faith  in  God  105 

the  facts  of  his  father's  life  and  character,  and 
build  up  his  opinions  and  beliefs  about  him  on 
those  facts,  and  then  follow  his  favourable  opinion 
with  his  confidence.  The  knowledge  and  strength 
and  love  of  the  father  are  made  known  to  the  child 
in  casual  ways  with  no  appearance  of  plan  or  sys- 
tem, and  often  apparently  conflict  with  his  acts 
and  character.  And  the  child's  love  and  confidence 
outrun  and  often  control  and  correct  his  opinions. 
Confidence  and  love  prove  to  be  the  true  investi- 
gators— the  true  judges.  So  it  should  perhaps  be 
between  man  and  his  Father — God.  His  best 
knowledge  will  be  less  clear  than  a  child's  con- 
viction. He  must  believe  and  trust  the  Father 
long  before  he  gets  even  the  A  B  C's  that  he  calls 
" knowledge"  of  the  Infinite  God.  He  cannot 
make  the  strength  and  growth  of  mental  and 
bodily  life  wait  while  he  studies  psychology  and 
physics.  So,  too,  he  cannot  put  off  the  duty 
and  the  risk  of  present  life  and  service,  until  he 
has  reckoned  the  value  and  certainty  of  the  final 
reward — or  learned  the  system  and  the  plan  of 
spiritual  life. 

There  is  often  a  strong  trust  in  God  with  little 
faithfulness  in  common  duty.  Can  there  be  such 
trust  in  God  with  no  serious  beliefs  about  Him? 
To  trust  in  Him  involves  more  than  a  self-com- 
pelled service  of  the  hands.  It  is  a  confidence  in 
Him  who  is  invisible.  For  that  the  heart  may 
move  more  quickly  and  act  more  strongly  than 


i  o6  The  Law  of  Faith 

the  mind;  but  it  cannot  rightly  determine  the 
action  of  the  mind.  Belief  is  not  an  act  of  the 
will. 

The  faculty  that  sees  the  invisible  is  like  and 
unlike  our  bodily  sight.  Like  that  faculty  it  is 
often  stronger  in  youth  than  age.  Unlike  it,  it  does 
not  distinguish  shape,  for  there  is  no  shape — nor 
colour.  But  our  mind  and  our  heart  see  as  really, 
as  truly,  and  as  constantly,  as  our  eyes.  They 
see  what  our  eyes  cannot  see.  And  in  every-day 
life  what  they  see  is  as  necessary  and  precious  to 
us  as  anything  that  is  visible  to  bodily  or  mental 
sight.  No  man  who  has  a  vision  of  God  can  name 
Him,  or  describe  Him,  or  explain  the  nature  of 
His  Spirit  or  His  Person.  He  sees  dimly  a  Being 
that  lives  and  acts  and  works  for  good.  He  may 
call  Him  an  Infinite  Person  or  a  Power  or  Tendency 
or  Nature  of  things.  But  the  most  childish  im- 
agining and  the  most  pagan  dream  and  the  deep- 
est philosophic  thoughts  are  each  perhaps  a  seeing 
and  a  believing,  in  which  the  man  can  begin  to 
build,  and  does  build,  his  trust — the  trust  in 
Him  whom  no  one  plainly  sees — whom  all  men 
ignorantly  worship. 

A  man  unconsciously  follows  his  personal  inclin- 
ations and  disposition  in  his  faith — as  in  his  manner 
of  life.  One  is  more  faithful  in  his  duties — 
another  more  trustful  and  confident  in  his  plans— 
another  more  positive  in  his  convictions  and 
beliefs.  One  sees  only  with  the  mind's  eye,  or  with 


Faith  in  God  107 

the  body's  eye.  For  another  the  eyes  of  his  heart 
are  opened.  Is  there  not  some  faith  in  all? 

Each  develops  most  easily,  if  not  most  strongly 
in  his  own  natural  way.  Some  neglect,  and  so 
exclude,  all  other  lines  but  that  of  least  resistance. 

There  might,  no  doubt,  be  a  refusal  to  obey  or 
to  believe  or  to  trust.  The  way  might  be  too  hard 
or  too  humiliating.  It  always  requires  the  self- 
denial  of  the  self-complacent  and  the  self-indulgent. 

That  man  is  the  true  unbeliever,  who  tries  to 
choose  what  he  will  see  or  not  see — who  seeks  to 
please  himself  in  what  he  calls  or  obeys  as  truth. 
A  conscious  and  wilful  refusal  or  choice  of  any  one 
way  of  faith — my  own  way — is  a  real  denial  of  all 
faith.  If  the  man  sees  and  will  not  do,  or  if  he 
can  and  will  not  see,  he  is  unfaithful.  But  if  he 
has  no  eye,  that  can  see  or  choose,  there  seems  to 
be  no  unfaithfulness  in  him. 

NOTES 

i.  Ps.  27:13—2.  Ps.  56:4—3-  Ps.  112:7—4.  Ps.  31:24 
— 5.  Heb.  11:13 — 6-  Ps.  116:10 — 7.  2  Cor.  4:13—8.  2 
Cor.  5:6-8 — 9.  Matt.  8:26 — 10.  Mark  4:40 — n.  Luke 
8:25 — 12.  Acts  27:25 — 13.  Matt.  6:30;  Luke  12:28 — 14. 
Rom.  4:18-20 — 15.  Ps.  5:11 — 16.  Ps.  33:21 — 17.  Acts 
16:34 — J8.  2  Cor.  1:24 — 19.  i  Cor.  7:14 — 20.  2  Tim. 
1:4 — 21.  i  Tim.  5:5 — 22.  Job  4:6 — 23.  i  Tim.  6:  10 
— 24.  John  12:44 — 25.  John  14:1 — 26.  James  1:3 — 27. 
Rev.  13:10 — 28.  Rom.  12:3 — 29.  Rom.  3:27 — 30.  James 
2:  i — 31.  i  Tim.  6:  17—32.  2  Cor.  5:  7—33.  2  Cor.  4:  13— 


io8  The  Law  of  Faith 

34.  i  Peter  3:5—35-  Numb.  20:12—36.  Zeph.  3:12—37. 
i  Cor.  13:2—38.  i  Cor.  13:13—39.  I  Thess.  5:8—40.  I 
Tim.  1:5—41.  Heb.  2:11-13—42.  Titus  3:  15— 43.  i  Tim. 
6:2 — 44.  2  Cor.  6:14,  15 — 45.  2  Tim.  3:10 — 46.  i  Tim. 
4:  12—47.  i  Tim.  6:  n — 48.  2  Tim.  2:22—49.  Titus  2:2— 
50.  i  Tim.  2:15 — 51.  Titus  1:15 — 52.  i  Tim.  6:  10 — 53. 
i  Tim.  i :  4—54.  Jude  20 — 55.  Rom.  14:  23—56.  Jer.  14:  8— 
57.  2  Tim.  3:  8—58.  Prov.  22: 19 — 59.  Is.  43:  10 — 60.  Heb. 
ii :  6 — 61.  i  Cor.  2:5 — 62.  i  Peter  1:21 — 63.  Heb.  10:22 — 
64.  John  8:24 — 65.  2  Cor.  4:13 — 66.  2  Kings  18:30; 
Isaiah  36:  15 — 67.  2  Kings  19:  10 — 68.  Rom.  10:  17 — 69. 

1  Cor.    14:22 — 70.      i    Cor.    14:24 — 71.     Rev.    13:10 — 72.     2 
Tim.   2:2 — 73.     i   Tim.   6:21 — 74.     2   Tim.   2:18 — 75.     Titus 
1:13—76.     Rom.  3:3—77.     Heb.   12:2—78.     Heb.   13:7,  8 — 
79.     2  Cor.  3:4 — 80.     i  Thess.  2:13 — 81.     i  Cor.   15:2 — 82. 

2  Cor.  4:4 — 83.    Heb.  n:  i — 84.     Heb.  n:  3 — 85.     Rom.  i:  17 
—86.     Rom.  9 :  30,  31—87.    John  1 1 :  40—88.     John  20:  29 — 89. 
Job   4:6 — 90.     Prov.    14:26 — 91.     i    John    5:10 — 92.     James 
2:1 — 93-     !  Tim.  2:15 — 94.     2  Tim.  2:2 — 95.     i  Tim.  2:2; 
Heb.  11:3,  6—96.     i  Tim.  6:  10,  21;  2  Tim.  2: 18;  Tit.  i:  13— 
97.    Jude  20 — 98.    John  8:24 — 99.     Rom.  10:17 — 100.    John 
20:29;  i  Cor.  15:2—101.     Ps.  27:  13—102.     Acts  27:25—103. 
John  20:  29;  i  Cor.  15:  2 — 104.     Matt.  6:  30;  8:  26;  Mark  4:  40; 
Luke  8:  25;  Rom.  9:  32;  i  Thess.  5:  8—105.     2  Tim.  2:2. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

FAITH   IN   GOD 
ITS    RELATION    TO    FORGIVENESS    AND    SALVATION 

Faith  Leads  to  Forgiveness  and  Righteousness. 

The  heart  of  unbelief  departs  from  God.  The 
believing  heart  comes  to  God,  and  man  cannot 
come  to  Him  without  it. 

An  evil  heart  of  " unbelief"  in  departing  from 
the  living  God  (i).  He  that  comes  to  God  must 
"believe"  (2). 

Faith  is  the  only  way  of  deliverance  from  life- 
long sin — the  way  of  forgiveness — the  only  way 
for  man  to  reach  righteousness.  And  the  Gentiles 
found  it  when  the  Jews  could  not.  The  confidence 
of  faith  is  due  to  the  forgiveness  of  our  sin.  The 
very  want  of  faith  is  sin,  and  as  such  it  merits 
God's  anger.  If  ye  "believe"  not  that  I  am  He, 
ye  shall  die  in  your  sins  (3).  Faith  was  reckoned 
to  Abraham  for  righteousness  (4).  By  Him  all 
that  "believe"  are  justified  (5).  The  Gentiles 
attained  to  the  righteousness  which  is  of  "faith." 

N.  B. — The  notes  of  passages  referred  to  by  number  are  found 
at  the  end  of  the  chapter. 

109 


no  The  Law  of  Faith 

Israel  did  not  attain,  because  they  sought  it  not 
"by  faith'*  (6).  Let  us  draw  near  in  full  assur- 
ance of  "faith/'  having  our  hearts  sprinkled  from 
an  evil  conscience  (7) .  Whatever  is  not ' '  of  faith ' ' 
is  sin  (8).  Because  we  do  not  "trust"  in  God,  He 
visits  us  in  His  anger  (9). 

God  is  just,  and  therefore  we  trust  in  Him,  al- 
though His  way  is  hidden  from  our  eyes.  Our 
hope  is  in  Him,  even  when  He  rebukes  for  sin  and 
we  are  without  strength.  God  is  our  salvation  and 
our  strength ;  therefore  we  trust  Him  without  fear. 
Thou  shalt  not  see  Him,  yet  judgment  is  before 
Him:  therefore  "trust"  thou  in  Him  (10).  What 
wait  I  for?  "My  hope"  is  in  Thee  (11).  I  will 
"trust"  and  not  be  afraid,  for  the  Lord  Jehovah 
is  my  strength.  He  is  become  my  salvation  (12). 

There  is  a  righteousness  of  the  law,  a  righteous- 
ness of  obedience— but  none  have  ever  attained  to 
it — not  even  Israel  with  the  help  of  Moses'  law. 
And  those  who  fall  short  cannot  please  God  by 
such  a  righteousness. 

No  man  is  justified  by  the  law,  for  the  just  shall 
"live  by  faith."  And  the  law  is  not  of  "faith": 
but  the  man  that  does  the  commandments  shall 
live  in  them  (13).  All  that  "believe"  are  justified 
from  things,  from  which  they  could  not  be  justified 
by  the  law  (14).  Israel  sought  righteousness  not  by 
1 '  faith, ' '  but  by  the  works  of  the  law  (15).  If  any 
man  draws  back,  God  has  no  pleasure  in  him  (16). 


Faith  in  God  in 

God  has  provided  another  way,  the  way  of  faith 
— and  another  righteousness,  by  grace — "God's 
righteousness"  and  His  free  gift — a  righteousness 
for  sinners,  that  "justifies"  ungodly  men  (i6a). 

The  righteousness  of  God,  without  the  law,  by 
"faith"  of  Jesus  Christ,  for  all  that  "believe"(i7) 
on  Him  that  justifies  the  ungodly  (18) — a  "faith" 
counted  for  righteousness  (19). 

God's  righteousness  was  given  to  Abraham  with 
the  promise  of  the  countless  seed — Abraham  trusted 
and  received  the  promise.  That  was  faith,  and 
that  faith  was  reckoned  as  righteousness  for  him. 
By  means  of  faith  he  received  it,  and  it  became 
the  means  by  which  his  faith  increased,  until  it 
led  him  to  such  work  of  faith  as  the  offering  up  of 
Isaac.  From  the  beginning  that  saving  faith  had 
been  displayed  in  human  life  in  the  recognition  of 
a  Creator,  the  walk  with  God,  the  obedient  fear. 
It  has  been  rehearsed  in  song  and  prophecy  and 
portrayed  by  the  priesthood  and  offerings  and 
purifications  of  the  law. 

God  promised  a  seed  innumerable  as  the  stars. 
Abraham  "believed"  in  the  Lord,  and  it  was 
counted  to  him  for  righteousness  (20).  In  the 
gospel  the  righteousness  of  God  is  revealed  "from 
faith  to  faith":  as  it  is  written,  the  just  shall 
live  by  "faith"  (21).  The  Scriptures  anticipated 
that  God  would  justify  the  heathen  through 
"faith"  (22).  The  Scripture,  that  said  Abraham 


H2  The  Law  of  Faith 

"believed"  God,  was  again  fulfilled,  when  he 
offered  up  Isaac  (23). 

By  faith  we  understand  that  God's  word  made 
the  world  (24) — and  Enoch  walked  with  Him  (25) 
— and  Noah  prepared  the  ark  (2.6). 

The  wicked  cry  and  receive  no  answer  because  of 
pride;  therefore  "trust"  thou  in  God  (27).  Every 
man  walks  in  a  vain  show,  our  "hope"  is  in  God 
(28).  He  is  our  strength  and  salvation,  we  can 
"trust"  and  not  be  afraid  (29). 

Priest  and  sacrifice  served  for  example  and 
shadow  of  heavenly  realities  (30). 

This  righteousness  was  for  the  Gentiles  and 
Jews  alike — a  setting  apart  unto  God,  as  "children 
of  Abraham,"  of  all  who  put  their  trust  in  God. 
The  Jewish  badge  and  seal  of  circumcision  had 
meant  nothing  more — a  seal  in  the  flesh  for  those 
who  walk  in  the  faith. 

One  God,  justifying  Jew  and  Gentile  by  "faith" 
(31).  "Faith"  reckoned  for  righteousness  was 
older  than  the  circumcision  that  separated  Jew 
from  Gentile  (32),  and  Abraham  was  the  father 
of  all  who  were  separated  like  him  and  walked  in 
the  same  "faith"  (33). 

By  "faith"  Noah  became  heir  of  that  righteous- 
ness which  is  by  "faith"  (34).  And  only  by  faith 
could  men  become  children  of  Abraham  and  heirs 
of  the  promised  land  and  blessing,  "heirs  of  the 
world." 

Abraham  received  the  sign  as  the  seal  of  the 


Faith  in  God  113 

righteousness  of  "the  faith,"  that  he  might  be  the 
father  of  all  that  "believe"  (35).  They  which  are 
of  "faith"  are  children  of  Abraham  (36)— blessed 
with  "faithful"  Abraham  (37)— the  seed  of  the 
promise  through  the  righteousness  of  "faith" 
(38)— the  seed  which  is  of  the  "faith"  of 
Abraham  (39). 

It  was  not  by  faith  and  law — but  either  by  law 
and  right,  having  their  own  obedience  and  their 
own  righteousness — or  by  faith  and  grace,  having 
God's  righteousness. 

Justified  by  "faith"  without  the  deeds  of  the 
law  (40).  The  promise  was  not  to  Abraham 
through  the  law,  but  through  the  righteousness 
of  "faith"  (41).  If  they  are  heirs  by  the  law, 
"faith"  is  made  void  (42).  Law  is  not  "faith," 
the  man  that  keeps  the  law  shall  live  by  it  (43). 
The  man  that  breaks  the  law  may  live  by  faith. 
By  the  law  comes  knowledge  of  sin.  Justification 
is  "of  faith"  that  it  might  be  by  grace  (44). 

Faith  Leads  to  Life  and  Salvation.  Faith  in 
God  was  faith  in  Him  who  raised  up  the  dead 
Christ.  He  that  could  make  the  dead  alive  again, 
could  make  the  ungodly  righteous. 

The  God  whom  Abraham  "believed"  was  God 
who  quickens  the  dead  (45).  We  shall  have  the 
same  righteousness,  if  we  "believe"  on  Him 

8 


ii4  The  Law  of  Faith 

that  raised  up  Jesus  (46).     God  would  justify  the 
heathen  by  "faith"  (47). 

The  seed  which  is  of  faith,  received  by  faith, 
has  life  in  it  for  us  to  live  by.  The  man  of  faith 
is  a  living  branch  growing  out  of  a  living  vine. 
He  receives  the  living  seed  like  fertile  ground. 
And  the  life  received  is  an  eternal  life. 

The  just  shall  live  by  "faith"  (48).  The  Jews 
because  of  "unbelief"  were  broken  off  and  shall 
be  grafted  in  again  if  they  do  not  continue  in 
"unbelief" — the  Gentile  Christians  stand  by 
"faith"  (49).  The  seed  is  the  word  of  God,  the 
devil  takes  away  the  word  so  that  men  may  not 
"believe."  If  (as  in  stony  ground)  they  have  no 
root,  they  "believe"  for  a  while  and  then  fall  away 
(50).  He  that  "believes"  on  God  has  everlasting 
life  (51).  We  are  to  fight  the  good  fight  of  "faith" 
and  lay  hold  on  eternal  life  (52). 

Faith  makes  effective  and  confirms  the  law — 
which  of  itself  could  only  point  out  sin.  The 
righteousness  by  faith  had  always  been  God's 
only  righteousness  for  men — a  stumbling-block 
forever  to  those,  who  will  have  no  righteousness 
but  their  own,  and  seek  for  that  in  the  law. 

We  establish  the  law  through  "faith"  (53). 
The  righteousness  of  God,  without  the  law,  by 
"faith"  of  Jesus  Christ,  now  displayed  in  the 
gospel,  is  supported  by  the  law  and  the  prophets 
(54).  Christ  was  a  stumbling-block  for  the  confu- 


Faith  in  God  115 

sion  of  the  Jews,  and  the  confidence  of  those  that 
"believe"  on  Him  (55). 

The  faith,  that  brings  forgiveness,  righteousness, 
and  life  as  gifts  from  God,  preserves  man  by  God's 
life-giving  power  for  the  complete  and  final  salva- 
tion that  shall  be  revealed.  It  is  tested  and 
developed  in  our  earthly  life.  It  makes  the  poor 
rich  in  the  inheritance  of  a  kingdom,  and  shows  its 
life  by  the  seed's  growth  and  fruit  and  works. 

Kept  by  the  power  of  God  through  "faith'* 
unto  salvation,  ready  to  be  revealed  in  the  last 
time  (56).  We  are  not  of  them  who  draw  back 
unto  perdition;  but  of  them  that  "believe"  to  the 
saving  of  the  soul  (57).  That  the  trial  of  your 
"faith,"  being  much  more  precious  than  of  gold 
that  perishes,  might  be  found  unto  praise,  and 
honour  and  glory  (58).  We  both  labour  and  suffer 
reproach,  because  we  "trust"  in  God  who  is  the 
Saviour  of  those  that  "believe"  (59).  God  has 
chosen  the  poor  of  this  world  to  be  rich  in  "faith" 
and  heirs  of  the  kingdom  which  He  promised  to 
them  that  love  Him  (60).  It  cannot  profit  a  man 
to  say  he  has  "faith"  and  not  works.  Faith 
cannot  save  him.  Faith  without  works  is  dead 


It  is  the  salvation  of  all  who  will  receive  it. 
And  they  that  trust  only  God's  love  live  in  it  and 
in  Him.  Those  who  will  have  nothing  but  the  law 
—  no  faith,  no  grace  —  have  only  condemnation. 


ii6  The  Law  of  Faith 

The  unbelieving  remain  in  their  disobedience  at 
the  last. 

He  that  "believes"  and  is  baptised  shall  be 
saved  (62).  And  we  have  known  and  "believed" 
the  love  that  God  has  to  us.  God  is  love :  and  he 
that  dwells  in  love,  dwells  in  Him  (63).  He  that 
"believes"  in  God  shall  not  come  into  condemna- 
tion (64).  He  that  "believes"  not  shall  be 
condemned  (65).  The  "unbelieving"  shall  have 
their  part  in  the  lake  which  burns  with  fire  and 
brimstone;  which  is  the  second  death  (66). 

Some  of  these  passages — especially  in  our 
English  version — seem  to  convey  a  different 
meaning — more  particularly  John  viii.,  24  (a  belief 
on  the  part  of  Scribes  and  Pharisees  that  Christ 
was  the  Messiah)  and  Heb.  xi.,  6  (a  belief  on  the 
part  of  Enoch  or  others  who  come  to  God  that 
God  lives  and  is  a  rewarder  of  those  who  seek  Him) . 
In  this  chapter  both  of  these  passages  are  taken 
for  what  they  seem  to  mean  in  the  original  Greek 
and  in  the  Latin  of  the  Vulgate — a  trust  in  God, 
because  Christ  came  as  His  Messiah — because 
God  lives  and  is  a  rewarder. 

It  was  the  facts  that  led  to  their  confidence. 
Their  belief  was  full  of  doubt.  The  facts  dis- 
played themselves  and  led  to  confidence  and 
belief — and  often  to  confidence  before  belief. 

That  Christ  demanded  of  the  Pharisees  in  John 
viii.,  24 a  belief,  which  hardly  came  before  His  death 


Faith  in  God  117 

to  His  disciples,  does  not  seem  probable.  And  it 
is  harder  still  to  think  of  this  belief  (which  has  up 
to  the  present  time  been  out  of  the  reach  of  the 
great  majority  of  mankind)  as  set  by  Him  for  all 
for  a  condition  of  forgiveness  or  salvation. 

And  the  Scriptures  in  Heb.  xi.,  6,  speak  of  Enoch 
as  having  necessarily  and  naturally  had  such 
beliefs  (literally,  perhaps,  must  have  believed). 
But  to  find  in  this  passage  a  general  rule  and  limita- 
tion of  God's  mercy  for  all  ages  and  people  is  a  bold 
venture,  that  nothing  but  an  unmistakable  word 
of  God  can  justify.  It  is  plain  that  the  same  word 
in  the  immediate  context  repeatedly  refers  to 
trust  in  God  and  not  to  any  belief  about  Him. 

Other  passages  (67)  seem  to  express  a  trust  in 
Christ,  which  is  probably  identical  both  in  its 
essence  and  its  effect  with  trust  in  God.  They 
are  considered  with  other  like  passages  in  a 
chapter  relating  to  faith  in  Christ. 

"God's  righteousness"  is  contrasted  with  all 
other  righteousness,  that  men  have  thought  they 
might  or  did  attain  unto.  This  is  not  God's  own 
holiness  or  justice.  The  Scriptures  are  speaking 
here  of  something  provided  by  God  for  man  and 
by  Him  freely  given  to  those  that  trust  Him. 

And  even  in  Moses'  time  a  substitutional  and 
ceremonial  righteousness,  far  short  of  perfect  and 
full  obedience,  was  provided  by  God  for  Israel 
(68),  and  it  was  to  be  their  righteousness. 


n8  The  Law  of  Faith 

God's  righteousness  is  a  real  and  not  a  nominal 
or  forensic  or  symbolic  lightness,  although  it  was 
far  from  a  perfect  present  obedience  of  heart  and 
life.  Possibly  the  thought  that  it  is  only  nominal 
may  be  due  to  the  various  words  "imputed," 
"reckoned,"  "counted,"  with  which  our  English 
translators  have  sought  in  these  passages  to 
render  and  explain  the  simple  word  used  in  the 
original.  That  word  is  the  pronouncement  of 
God  and  carries  with  it  none  of  the  make-believe 
idea,  which  time  with  its  logic  and  history  has 
attached  to  all  the  translations.  It  is  a  living  truth 
recognised,  recorded,  and  declared  by  God.  It 
concerns  a  germ  of  life  in  the  seed — to  be  shown 
later  (and  often  shown  on  earth)  in  growth  and 
fruit — never  utterly  lost  and  never  attaining  its 
godly  perfection  here.  It  can  only  be  spoken  of 
that  which  lives  and  grows;  and  only  by  Him  who 
sees  the  whole  life  from  its  beginning,  and  knows 
the  forces  that  He  has  put  into  it,  and  the  future 
to  which  He  is  bringing  it. 

God  who  quickens  the  dead  can  call  "things 
which  be  not  as  though  they  were"  (69) — for  His 
word  is  His  creating  will. 

God  is  "just"  and  therefore  the  justifier  of  the 
ungodly.  He  is  holy  and  therefore  men  shall  be 
made  holy  by  Him.  For  they  are  His  children 
born  in  His  likeness — quite  as  really  as  they  are 
Adam's  children,  born  in  his  likeness.  The  sons 
of  Adam  are  like  him,  ungodly;  and  when  made 


Faith  in  God  119 

into  sons  of  God  and  joined  to  the  family  of  His 
Divine  Son,  they  become  by  a  natural  law  of  the 
Spirit-birth  like  Him,  godly — and  the  ungodly  are 
thus  "justified"  at  the  beginning  of  their  new  life. 

The  gift  of  Himself  to  men  and  the  gift  of  a  new- 
born spirit  and  a  living  righteousness  are  great 
mysteries.  So  is  the  gift  to  us  of  a  human  nature 
with  its  limitations,  its  mortality,  and  its  free  will. 
That  men  receive  the  highest  gifts  of  the  Spirit  only 
by  the  simplest  of  all  ways — a  relation  and  an 
attitude  rather  than  an  action — like  soil  open  to  the 
seed  of  the  husbandman,  a  hand  open  to  the  gift 
of  the  Creator,  a  heart  open  to  the  love  of  the 
Father — is  a  great  mystery.  So  too  are  the  marvels 
of  heredity  and  environment,  by  which  the  human 
child  receives  the  character  and  the  faculties  of 
his  forefathers  and  his  race.  We  believe  and 
cannot  explain  the  "earthly  things."  Must  we 
explain  and  then  believe  the  "heavenly  things"? 
To  simple  trust — to  those  who  believe  as  children 
and  receive — the  gifts  are  given. 

That  a  justification  of  the  ungodly  is  in  conflict 
with  the  justice  of  God — that  a  free  and  fatherly 
forgiveness  cannot  be  the  act  of  the  Holy  One  who 
is  Law-giver  and  Judge — are  suggestions  that  find 
no  place  in  any  of  the  passages  of  Scripture  cited 
here,  and  perhaps  in  no  others.  "If  we  confess 
our  sins,  He  is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us  our 
sins  and  to  cleanse  us  from  all  unrighteousness" 
(70).  And  this  is  illustrated  by  the  Lord's  parable 


120  The  Law  of  Faith 

of  the  publican's  prayer  in  Luke  xviii.,  9-14.  The 
quasi-mathematical  and  quasi-judicial  hypotheses, 
to  which  these  suggestions  have  naturally  led,  are 
not  easily  found  in  the  Scriptures.  Perhaps  they 
cannot  be  found  by  one,  who  tries  to  take  Bible 
words  as  they  were  used,  in  the  limited  and 
natural  and  common  meanings  of  their  time — 
and  who  adds  nothing  to  them. 

Without  argument  or  proof  it  seems  clear,  that 
free  forgiveness  of  a  penitent  and  trustful  child  is 
the  act  of  a  good  human  father — and  that  free 
pardon  on  unmistakable  repentance  and  sure 
promise  of  reform  is  good  and  just  human 
government. 

Law  and  Faith  go  together,  although  righteous- 
ness of  man  (by  his  obedience)  and  righteousness 
of  God  (by  His  gift  of  grace)  do  not.  The  law  is 
confirmed  and  "established"  by  "faith"  (71). 
Its  end  and  purpose  are  attained — its  way  ap- 
proved. Its  end  and  purpose  are  man's  holiness- 
begun  now  in  the  seed — to  grow  and  bear  fruit 
forever.  The  law  began  the  work  by  showing  man 
to  himself — the  hopeless  difference  between  him- 
self and  goodness — the  separation  between  himself 
and  God.  It  led  on  through  confession  and  con- 
secration and  cleansing  to  forgiveness  and  restora- 
tion. It  was  the  child's  school  of  the  race,  with 
all  the  kindergarten  methods  of  the  Mosaic 
ceremonial.  These  methods  were  probably  not  in- 
tended to  serve,  and  did  not  then  serve,  as  search- 


Faith  in  God  121 

lights  to  point  to  or  bring  out  the  marvellous  facts 
of  a  future,  that  are  now  in  part  revealed.  To  the 
people  of  their  day  they  simply  gave  a  knowledge 
of  holiness  and  sin — a  daily  recital  of  what  they 
themselves  were  and  what  God  was  to  them — a 
glimpse  of  their  child-like  dependence  on  Himalone. 
But  the  learned  and  the  teachers — Pharisees  and 
Scribes — mislearned  the  lesson. 

To  us  as  simple  readers  of  the  New  Testament, 
the  law  receives  practical  confirmation  by  its  new 
use  for  explanation  and  vocabulary  of  the  gospel, 
in  the  study  of  the  "heavenly  things"  as  they 
become  more  fully  shown.  To  us — as  scholars 
and  dogmatists — there  is  the  old  danger  of  making 
the  vocabulary  and  the  illustration  more  real  than 
the  half -hidden  and  still  mysterious  realities. 

Man  made  in  God's  image  was  a  welcome  truth, 
and  men  learned  to  pride  themselves  in  their  God- 
likeness  and  in  their  goodness — forgetting  that  it 
was  but  germ  and  promise,  and  boasting  of  the 
harvest  that  was  yet  in  the  far  future.  The  up- 
lifting pride  did  not  make  the  man  upright  (72). 
Perfection  must  show  achievement — but  believers 
need  not  make  haste  (73),  for  the  sure  founda- 
tion and  the  whole  future  are  theirs. 

The  humbling  fact,  that  all  our  godliness  is  in 
the  germ,  and  that  there  is  now  only  imperfection 
in  man  and  dependence  on  God — no  righteousness 
on  earth  but  what  God  freely  gives  to  sinful  men — 
makes  God's  righteousness  a  stumbling-block  (74) 


122  The  Law  of  Faith 

to  human  pride,  and  the  Lord — Himself  taking 
man's  image  to  bring  that  righteousness  to  us,  and 
taking  all  human  burdens  with  that  image — be- 
came the  stumbling-block  for  every  man  (75)  to 
all  self-sufficiency  and  all  self-will. 

The  gospel  from  man's  point  of  view  dwindles  to 
a  system  or  plan — changing  in  some  things  with  the 
changing  point  of  view.  It  is  in  reality  a  power  of 
God  exerted  for  a  purpose  (76).  The  power  is 
hidden.  The  greatness  and  wonder  of  it  are 
revealed  in  flashes:  the  Word  made  flesh — Christ 
delivered  for  our  offences — Christ  raised  from  the 
dead.  It  is  Divine  power — and  it  suffices.  Our 
best  systems  do  not  bring  us  much  farther  than 
this.  The  purpose  is  man's  salvation  now  and 
forever:  from  enemies  and  dangers — from  dis- 
appointment and  sorrow — from  sin  and  condemna- 
tion— from  evil  and  from  death.  In  the  passages 
here  cited  salvation  is  generally  spoken  of  as 
righteousness — kingdom — forgiveness — life. 

Circumcision  was  a  sign  and  seal  of  man's  re- 
lation to  God — his  separation  unto  God  (77). 
Circumcised  men  thought  that  it  made  the  sepa- 
ration— and  was  itself  separation  enough.  As 
circumcision  was  but  a  seal,  faith  is  but  an  attitude : 
a  turning  to  God — bending  before  Him — listening 
to  Him — reaching  out  for  Him.  The  attitude  is 
more  than  the  seal.  It  is  an  expression  as  well 
as  a  badge.  But  the  reality,  without  which 
circumcision  is  nothing  and  faith  is  nothing,  is  the 


Faith  in  God  123 

new-born  man  with  willing,  submissive,  aspiring 
heart — in  true  relation  of  man  to  God — advancing 
in  "steps"  of  faith. 

NOTES 

I.  Heb.  3:12 — 2.  Heb.  11:6 — 3.  John  8:24 — 4.  Rom. 
4:9 — 5.  Acts  13:30 — 6.  Rom.  9:30,  32—7.  Heb.  10:22 — 
8.  Rom.  14:23—9.  Job  35: 15— 10.  Job  35:14 — n.  Ps. 
39:  7—12.  Is.  12:  2—13.  Gal.  3: 11,  12—14.  Acts  13: 30—15- 
Rom.  9:32 — 16.  Heb.  10:39 — i6a.  Rom.  9:32 — 17.  Rom. 
3: 22 — 1 8.  Rom.  4:  5 — 19.  Rom.  4:  5 — 20.  Gen.  15: 6;  Rom. 
4:3»  5,  9;  Gal.  3:6;  James  2:23—21.  Rom.  i:  17—22.  Gal. 
3:8 — 23.  James  2:23 — 24.  Heb.  11:3 — 25.  Heb.  11:5 — 
26.  Heb.  11:7—27.  Job  35:14—28.  Ps.  39=7—29-  Is. 
12:2 — 30.  Heb.  8: 15 — 31.  Rom.  3:30 — 32.  Rom.  4:9,  n — 
33.  Rom.  4: 12 — 34.  Heb.  11:7 — 35.  Rom.  4:  n — 36.  Gal. 
3:7—37.  Gal.  3:9—38.  Rom.  4:13—39.  Rom.  4:16—40. 
Rom.  3:28 — 41.  Rom.  4:13 — 42.  Rom.  4:14 — 43.  Gal. 
3:12 — 44.  Rom.  4:16 — 45.  Rom.  4:17 — 46.  Rom.  4:24 — 
— 47.  Gal.  3:  8 — 48.  Hab.  2:4;  Rom.  i:  17;  Gal.  3:  u;  Heb. 
10:38 — 49.  Rom.  11:20 — 50.  Luke  8:12,  13 — 51.  John  5: 
24 — 52.  i  Tim.  6: 12 — 53.  Rom.  3:31 — 54.  Rom.  3:22 — 
55.  Rom.  9:33—56.  i  Pet.  1:5—57-  Heb.  10:39—58.  i 
Pet.  1:7 — 59.  i  Tim.  4:10 — 60.  James  2:5 — 61.  James 
2: 14,  20 — 62.  Mark  16: 16 — 63.  i  John  4: 16 — 64.  John 
5:24 — 65.  Mark  16: 16 — 66.  Rev.  21:8 — 67.  Mark  16: 16; 
Acts  13:39;  Rom.  3:22;  9:33 — 68.  Deut.  6:25 — 69.  Rom. 
4:17 — 70.  i  John  1:9 — 71.  Rom.  3:31 — 72.  Hab.  2:4 — 73. 
Is.  28:16 — 74.  Is.  8:14;  Rom.  9:32,  33—75.  i  Pet.  2:6-8 
— 76.  Rom.  i:  16;  i  Pet.  1:5 — 77.  Rom.  4: 9,  12. 


CHAPTER  IX 

FAITH  IN  CHRIST 
ITS  RELATION  TO  HAPPINESS 

In  its  Relation  to  Divine  Favour.  It  is  God's 
commandment  that  we  should  "believe  on" 
His  Son  and  those  that  "put  their  trust  in"  Him 
are  blessed  (i).  The  condemnation  for  sin  still 
falls  on  those  who  do  not  "believe  on"  Christ, 
but  it  is  removed  from  those  who  "believe"  (2). 
Their  sin  is  still  charged  against  unbelievers 
because  they  have  not  "believed  on"  Him  (3). 
And  it  is  better  to  suffer  a  dreadful  death  than 
to  offend  one  of  the  least  of  those  that  "believe 
in  "Him  (4). 

"Faith  "  in  Christ  is  the  means  by  which  Gentiles 
receive  the  blessing  of  Abraham  (5) .  So  far  as  there 
is  no  deliverance  by  faith  and  no  way  of  promise 
and  of  grace  opened  by  "faith"  to  them  that 
"believe,"  all  men  are  shut  up  under  sin  and  law 
(6).  By  "faith"  in  Christ  they  have  access  to 
the  divine  grace  (7).  "Those  that  believe" 

N.  B. — The  notes  of  passages  referred  to  by  number  are  found 
at  the  end  of  the  chapter. 

124 


Faith  in  Christ  125 

receive  His  Spirit  and  His  miracle-working  power 
(8).  By  continuing  "in  the  faith"  they  are  at 
last  made  holy  and  without  spot  (9).  Men 
"believe"  through  grace  (10) — and  peace  and  love 
come  from  God  "with  faith"  (n) — and  grace 
abounds  with  "faith"  (12). 

When  Christ  found  "great  faith"  in  a  Roman 
centurion,  He  marvelled  and  rejoiced  (13).  And 
He  gave  His  blessing  to  the  church  at  Pergamos, 
which  had  not  denied  "His  faith"  (14). 

The  "little  faith"  of  the  disciples  after  the 
feeding  of  the  multitude  (15) — and  of  Peter  in  the 
deep  waters  (16) — and  the  unbelief  of  Thomas  who 
had  seen  and  then  "believed"  (17) — are  rebuked 
by  Him.  And  Christ  prayed  for  Peter,  that 
Satan's  desire  might  be  thwarted  and  that  Peter's 
"faith"  might  not  fail  (18).  When  ordained  for 
service,  Christians  are  commended  to  the  care  of 
the  Lord,  "on  whom  they  trust"  (19). 

In  its  Relation  to  Divine  Deliverance  and 
Healing.  The  "faith"  of  the  paralytic  and  those 
who  brought  him  was  seen  by  Christ  and  was 
followed  by  forgiveness  and  by  healing.  Christ 
saw  "their  faith"  (20).  The  faith  of  the  ruler  of 
the  synagogue  was  followed  by  the  raising  of  his 
daughter.  "Believe  only"  was  Christ's  word  to 
him  (21).  The  "faith"  of  the  centurion  and  the 
healing  of  his  servant,  as  he  had  "believed,"  was 
another  instance  (22).  So,  the  faith  of  the  father 


126  The  Law  of  Faith 

— who  could  "believe"  and  make  all  things  pos- 
sible, but  declaring  that  he  "believed,"  asked 
help  for  his  "unbelief" — and  the  healing  of  the 
boy  with  the  dumb  spirit  (23) — and  the  "faith" 
of  the  Syro-Phoenician  woman,  and  the  healing  of 
her  daughter  (24). 

In  other  cases  it  was  the  "faith"  of  the  sufferer 
himself  that  led  to  his  healing,  and  made  him  whole 
— as  in  the  case  of  the  woman  who  touched  His 
garment  and  was  made  whole  (25) — the  blind 
Bartimeus  (26) — whose  faith  had  "saved"  him 
(27) — the  two  blind  men  "according  to  their  faith  " 
(28) — the  ten  lepers  (29). 

By  "faith  in  Christ's  name,"  "the  faith  which 
is  by  Him,"  the  cripple  at  the  temple  gate  was 
healed  by  Peter  (30) — and  the  cripple  at  Lystra 
by  Paul,  who  perceived  that  he  "had  faith  to  be 
healed"  (31).  To  that  faith  Paul  pointed  the 
jailer  at  Philippi  for  the  safety  of  himself  and  his 
house  urging  him  to  "believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ"  and  he  should  be  saved  (32).  And  in  this 
and  some  other  cases  the  faith  and  the  healing  led 
on  to  a  deeper  faith  and  a  confession  and  forgive- 
ness of  sin. 

God  set  His  Christ  for  a  sure  corner-stone  laid 
for  the  deliverance  and  safety  of  those  who 
"believe"  (33)  "on  Him"  (34).  But  that  Christ 
and  that  deliverance  were  a  stumbling-stone  to 
unbelieving  Israel  (35) .  A  branch  was  to  grow  out 
of  the  root  of  Jesus  and  stand  as  an  ensign,  that 


Faith  in  Christ  127 

Jews  and  Gentiles  might  rally  unto  Him  and 
"trust  in"  Him  as  their  king  (36).  And  He  "is 
our  hope"  (37). 

Several  passages  (38),  in  which  no  object  is 
expressed  after  the  verb  "believe, "  may  be  referred 
almost  as  well  to  a  trust  in  God,  but  seem  by  their 
context  to  relate  rather  to  trust  in  Christ.  So, 
too,  in  Gal.  iii.,  5,  the  expression  "the  hearing  of 
faith." 

The  passages  about  Thomas'  "believing"  in 
John  xx.,  29,  and  Christians'  denying  "my  faith" 
in  Rev.  ii.,  13,  may  both  relate  to  beliefs  about 
Christ. 

The  passage  in  Ps.  ii.,  22,  has  been  already 
spoken  of  in  Chapter  V. 

The  many  different  phrases,  by  which  the  work- 
ing and  attitude  of  faith  are  indicated,  present 
some  picture  of  life  or  movement  in  Christ  or  to- 
ward Him.  It  seems  to  be  the  intention  of  the 
Scriptures  to  use  these  faith- words,  both  in  original 
texts  and  in  translations,  without  etymological 
precision  or  uniformity,  but  with  incessant  and 
life-like  variation.  In  almost  every  conceivable 
way  they  express  this  life  and  movement — this 
vital  relation  of  the  believer  to  Christ.  In  the 
same  way  the  previous  chapters  have  presented 
the  believer's  vital  relation  to  God  as  a  true  Father. 

For  this  purpose,  where  the  object  of  faith  is 
expressed  in  the  phrase  itself,  all  the  objective 


128  The  .Law  of  Faith 

cases  and  all  available  prepositions  are  called 
into  service.  The  use  of  these  prepositions  is 
Hebraic,  and  they  seem  to  have  been  carried  over 
into  Greek,  and  from  Greek  into  English,  for  the 
purpose  of  presenting  an  ever-changing,  yet  always 
consistent,  picture  of  an  indefinable,  living  force. 
By  means  of  them  Christ  is  displayed  as  a  giver  to 
those  who  receive — a  teacher  to  those  who  believe 
— seen  by  those  who  turn  to  Him — known  by 
those  who  come  to  Him — upholding  those  who  rest 
on  Him — covering  those  who  hide  in  Him — 
sharing  all  that  is  His  with  those  who  partake  of 
Him  and  live  by  Him  and  in  Him. 

Where  the  faith-verb  occurs  in  the  Scriptures, 
three-fourths  of  the  passages  express  the  object 
of  the  faith,  and  more  generally  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment than  in  the  New.  More  than  two-thirds  of 
all  the  passages  where  the  faith-verb  is  used  with- 
out an  express  object  are  found  in  the  New 
Testament.  The  same  words  are  used  in  the  form 
of  adjective  or  noun  without  any  express  object 
in  a  still  larger  proportion  in  the  New  Testament 
than  in  the  Old. 

Many  of  the  passages  above  cited  speak  of  the 
faith  or  want  of  faith  of  the  disciples.  In  a  few 
of  them  those  that  believe  are  spoken  of  with  no 
designated  object  of  their  faith.  What  they  were 
or  were  not  by  means  of  it — what  they  could  or 
could  not  do  by  it — is  the  thought  of  all  of  these 
passages. 


Faith  in  Christ  129 

In  this  and  the  following  chapters  it  will  be 
found  that  whatever  is  said  of  faith  and  faith  in 
God  is  said  also  of  faith  in  Christ.  They  bear 
the  same  relation  to  God's  favour  and  deliverance 
and  to  the  character  and  destiny  of  the  believer.  . 

There  is  a  striking  difference  between  the  pas- 
sages collected  in  Chapter  V.  as  to  the  bearing  of 
faith  in  God  on  God's  favour  and  deliverance  and 
those  that  are  collected  here  as  to  the  bearing  of 
faith  in  Christ  on  the  same  subject.  Generally 
in  the  Old  Testament,  and  as  to  faith  in  God,  His 
favour  relates  to  earthly  prosperity,  and  His 
deliverance  is  from  visible  enemies  and  dangers; 
while  in  the  New  Testament,  and  as  to  faith  in 
Christ,  God's  favour  and  deliverance  relate  in 
almost  all  cases  to  temptation  or  sin  or  to  physical 
infirmity  and  healing. 

In  the  Old  Testament  in  faith-word  expres- 
sions and  otherwise  there  is  an  inheritance  looked 
for  and  peace  in  a  promised  land.  And  God  is 
presented  in  pictures  (drawn  chiefly  from  the 
wilderness  life  and  the  tabernacle)  as  a  great  rock, 
a  tower,  a  refuge,  a  fortress,  a  hiding-place,  a 
secret  place,  an  overshadowing  wing.  And  to 
these  pictures  the  New  Testament  perhaps  owes 
its  wealth  of  phrases  describing  the  believer's 
active  and  living  relation  to,  on,  under,  and  into 
Christ.  It  seems  intended  to  keep  before  the  eyes 
a  picture  of  Christ  only — Christ  covering,  hiding, 
supporting,  receiving  the  believer— Christ  his 


130  The  Law  of  Faith 

life.  And  it  seems  as  though  the  picture  had  been 
retouched,  until  now  the  thought  and  intelligence 
of  man  had  become  the  absorbing  theme — a  salva- 
tion wrought  by  human  knowledge  rather  than 
by  the  Divine  power  and  goodness. 

In  the  present  chapter  nine  cases  of  healing 
by  Christ  are  connected  by  Him  with  some 
exercise  of  faith.  In  some  it  is  the  faith  of  the 
sufferer — shown  by  the  woman  pressing  on  Him 
and  touching  Him  with  the  thought  that  she  would 
be  healed — the  crying  out  of  the  blind  men  to  this 
Son  of  David — the  appeal  of  the  lepers  and  the 
return  of  one  glorifying  God  and  giving  thanks  to 
Christ.  In  other  cases  it  is  the  faith  of  others  on 
the  sufferer's  behalf  or  with  him — coming  to  Christ, 
forcing  their  way  to  Him,  falling  at  His  feet  with 
urgent  prayer  for  the  healing  of  son  or  daughter 
or  friend — or  like  the  centurion  waiting  and  asking 
for  His  commanding  word.  In  the  case  of  the 
blind  men  Christ  asks  whether  they  believe  that 
He  can  do  it  and  their  "Yea,  Lord"  is  the  expres- 
sion of  their  faith.  So,  in  the  case  of  the  father  of 
the  epileptic  son,  the  prayer  for  healing  is  "if 
thou  canst"  with  an  averment  of  the  father's 
trembling  belief. 

The  sign  of  the  cripples'  faith  was  found  by  the 
apostles  in  their  mere  look  or  in  their  listening. 
In  one  case  the  sufferer  expects  and  asks  for  less 
than  he  receives.  In  each  case  faith  in  Christ  is 
declared  to  be  the  reason  or  the  means  of  healing. 


Faith  in  Christ  131 

It  seems  to  be  trust  in  the  power  of  Christ  dis- 
played or  exercised  by  an  apostle.  In  some 
Christ  is  expressly  named  as  the  object  of  the 
faith.  In  others  He  is  clearly  indicated  in  the 
context. 

In  all  these  cases  it  is  a  trust  in  Christ,  at  least 
in  His  ability  and  willingness  to  heal — and  perhaps 
nothing  more.  Most  of  them  were  Jews  with  a 
common  Jewish  belief.  Two  of  them  were  pagans. 
Probably  all  believed  in  some  celestial  power 
committed  to  Christ  and  exercised  at  times  by 
Him.  And  at  least  at  first  there  is  no  evidence  of 
other  belief. 

And  when  Christ  speaks  of  the  little  faith  of 
others,  it  is  their  want  of  childlike  confidence  in 
Him  and  in  His  power.  What  He  asks  for  is  a 
faith  like  little  children,  and  it  is  to  orthodox 
Jews  that  He  gives  the  warning,  and  foretells  the 
condemnation,  of  those  who  cannot  trust  Him  in 
that  way. 

In  these  passages  faith  is  shown  as  a  door  of 
escape  from  the  prison  of  sin  and  judgment — a  door 
of  access  to  the  Father.  Christ  is  that  door.  He 
is  the  way.  Christ  is  a  rock  to  build  on — a  root  to 
grow  in—  a  sign  to  rally  to.  Men  show  their  faith 
by  looking  to  Him — waiting  for  Him — coming  to 
Him — following  Him — calling  upon  Him — abiding 
in  Him.  They  hear  His  word — keep  His  com- 
mandments— love  Him — believe  Him — receive 
Him — eat  and  drink  of  Him — and  live  by  Him. 


132  The  Law  of  Faith 

Paul  hoped  to  be  found  in  Him — hidden  in  Him — 
and  grafted  by  faith  into  Him. 

But  it  is  true  faith  in  its  simplest  beginning 
as  truly  as  in  its  highest  and  happiest  forms.  In 
general  in  the  gospels  we  see  it  only  in  its  simplest 
forms.  To-day  in  our  common  life  it  is  the  same. 
We  see  it  everywhere,  we  feel  it  every  day,  in  its 
beginnings.  The  great  vision  and  the  passionate 
devotion  are  what  some  of  those  may  reach  at  last, 
who  begin  as  little  children  with  an  outstretched 
hand  and  an  untaught  confidence. 

Faith  (in  any  or  every  form)  united  men  to 
Christ,  or  tends  to  unite  them,  as  though  they  were 
put  into  or  placed  on  Him  or  kept  in  Him.  As 
such  it  is  not  difficult  to  see  the  natural  connection 
with  the  Divine  favour,  which  rested  always  upon 
God's  beloved  and  holy  Son.  The  difficulty  is  far 
greater,  if  faith  means  or  requires  intelligent 
beliefs  about  Him.  From  this  the  larger  part  of 
the  human  race  has  been,  and  is  now,  and  perhaps 
always  will  be,  necessarily  excluded,  and  the 
difficulty  becomes  insurmountable  when  faith  is 
made  the  condition  not  only  of  God's  earthly  favour 
but  of  His  eternal  deliverance  of  the  believer. 

What  we  call  knowledge  about  God  and  about 
Christ — and  much  of  our  beliefs — has  a  natural 
tendency  to  increase  our  trust,  our  faith  in  God  and 
in  Christ.  But  faith  does  not  wait  for  knowledge 
or  belief.  In  the  most  common  experiences  of 
human  life  faith  precedes,  and  belief  and  knowledge 


Faith  in  Christ  133 

follow,  and  often  follow  to  the  destruction  or  the 
confirmation  of  the  faith.  And  in  everyday 
matters  advancing  years  often  show  that  the 
childlike  faith  in  men  and  in  the  future  was  wiser 
and  sounder  than  the  adult  wisdom  that  dispelled 
it. 

Perhaps  when  the  Master  commended  the 
faith  of  the  "little  child, "  it  was  the  exact  descrip- 
tion of  the  living  faith  which  He  desired — a  faith 
attainable  to  all — and  not  acquired  by  learning  or 
by  wisdom.  It  may  be  stronger  and  better  than 
the  beliefs  that  go  with  it  or  the  works  that  follow 
it. 

NOTES 

I.  Ps.  2:12 — 2.  John  3:18 — 3.  John  3:18;  16:9 — 4 
Matt.  18:6;  9:42 — 5.  Gal.  3:14 — 6.  Gal.  3:14,  22,  23 — 
7.  Rom.  5:2—8.  Gal.  3:25 — 9.  Col.  1:23—10.  Acts 
18:27 — ii.  Eph.  6:23 — 12.  i  Tim.  1:14 — 13.  Matt.  8:  10; 
Luke  7:9 — 14.  Rev.  2:13 — 15.  Matt.  16:8— 16.  Matt. 
14:31 — 17.  John  20:29 — 18.  Luke  22:  32 — 19.  Acts  14:  23 
—20.  Matt.  9:2;  Mark  2: 5;  Luke  5:20—21.  Mark  5:36; 
Luke  8:50 — 22.  Matt.  8:13;  Luke  7:9 — 23.  Mark 
9:23,  24 — 24.  Matt.  15:28 — 25.  Matt.  9:22;  Mark  5:34; 
Luke  4:48—26.  Mark  10:52 — 27.  Luke  18:42 — 28.  Matt. 
9:29 — 29.  Luke  17:13,  19 — 30.  Acts  3:16 — 31.  Acts  14:9 
—32.  Acts  16:31—33.  Is.  28:16 — 34.  Rom.  9:33;  10:11; 
I  Pet.  2:6 — 35.  Rom.  9:  32,  33 — 36.  Is.  n :  10;  Rom.  15:  12— 
37.  i  Tim.  i:  I — 38.  Is.  28: 16;  John  20:  29;  Rom.  9:32. 


CHAPTER  X 

FAITH  IN  CHRIST 
ITS  RELATION  TO  CONDUCT 

Its  Relation  to  Human  Action.  The  followers  of 
the  Lord  became  talked  of.  "Their  faith  to- 
ward God"  was  spoken  of  in  every  place,  and 
men  told  how  all  who  believed  in  Thessalonica  had 
turned  from  idols  to  serve  God,  and  to  wait  for  His 
Son  from  heaven  (i).  In  Corinth  the  chief  ruler 
of  the  synagogue,  "believed  on  the  Lord"  with 
all  his  house;  and  many  Corinthians  "believed," 
and  were  baptized  (2).  In  Ephesus,  Paul  declared 
that  John  the  Baptist  not  only  baptized  with  the 
sign  of  repentance  but  taught  the  people  that 
they  should  "believe  on"  Christ  (3). 

And  faith  in  Christ  led  not  only  to  a  renunciation 
of  idols  and  to  baptism.  It  led  to  a  community  of 
life  and  property.  The  first  convert,  in  Europe, 
Lydia,  when  she  was  baptized,  offered  her  home 
to  the  apostles  in  confirmation  of  their  judgment 
that  she  was  a  believer  and  "faithful  to"  the  Lord 

N.  B. — The  notes  of  passages  referred  to  by  number  are  found 
at  the  end  of  the  chapter. 

134 


Faith  in  Christ  135 

(4) .  In  Thessalonica  a  great  multitude  ' '  believed '  * 
and  consorted  with  Paul  and  Silas  (5).  In  Jeru- 
salem at  the  very  first  "all  that  believed"  were 
together,  and  had  all  things  common  (6).  Those 
that  "believed"  were  of  one  heart  and  of  one  soul 
and  no  man  called  anything  his  own  (7). 

"Their  faith  in"  Christ  was  marked  by  a  love 
for  one  another  (8).  Among  those  who  were  "in 
Christ "  it  was  not  a  question  whether  a  believer 
was  Jew  or  Gentile,  but  whether  he  had  the  "faith 
which  worked  by  love"  and  showed  itself  in  love 
(9) — beginning  with  the  dependents  in  the  home 
and  care  of  him  ' '  that  believed  "  ( I  o) .  The  growth 
of  "their  faith"  showed  itself  by  their  joining  in 
the  work  of  carrying  the  gospel  to  "the  regions 
beyond"  (n).  In  this  way  they  were  to  be 
"examples  to  all  that  believed"  (12). 

In  Christ  the  believer  began  to  live  anew  as  one 
who  was  so  joined  to  Christ,  that  he  had  died  and 
risen  with  Him.  Faith  in  Christ  gave  him  a  new 
source  and  a  new  kind  of  life.  He  began  to  "live 
by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God"  (13).  "Their 
faith"  in  one  Lord  united  believers  in  a  common 
sacrifice  and  service  and  joy  (14).  It  was  fitting 
that  the  gospel  of  Christ  should  make  them  stand 
fast  in  one  spirit,  with  one  mind  striving  together 
"for  the  faith  of  the  gospel, "  which  faith  had  re- 
vealed and  given  to  them  (15). 

Faith  in  Christ  meant  "their  work  of  faith," 
a  labour  of  love,  a  patience,  a  hope  in  Him  (16). 


136  The  Law  of  Faith 

Believing  elders  were  expected  to  have  "faithful 
children"  (17).  And  when  believers  "who  had 
kept  the  faith  of  Jesus"  died,  their  works  lived 
on  and  followed  them  (18). 

God's  putting  a  man  to  service  is  a  mark  that 
He  "counts  him  faithful"  (19).  If  the  believer 
serves  well,  the  service  is  worthy  of  honour,  and  it 
gives  great  "boldness  in  the  faith" — an  assurance 
of  his  faith  in  Christ  (20) .  His  faith  is  the  measure 
of  apostolic  character.  He  is  an  apostle  "accord- 
ing to  the  faith"  (21).  The  "faith"  of  his  con- 
verts is  Paul's  anxiety  and  his  comfort  (22). 
Those  who  are  likely  to  "cast  off  their  faith" 
should  not  be  numbered  with  the  aged  widows 
dependent  on  the  church  (23).  It  is  by  continuing 
in  the  faith  that  the  apostle  becomes  a  winner  in 
the  fight  and  in  the  race,  a  victor  who  "had  kept 
the  faith, "  owned  by  Christ,  whose  presence  and 
glory  he  loves  (24). 

Want  of  faith  made  men  enemies  of  the  gospel. 
The  "unbelieving  Jews"  stirred  up  even  the 
Gentiles  against  the  brethren  at  Iconium  (25). 

The  work  that  God  required  was  that  men 
should  "believe  on  Him  whom  He  has  sent"  (26). 
"Through  faith,"  by  faith's  obedient  hearing, 
"the  hearing  of  faith,"  and  not  by  works  of  their 
own,  men  received  the  Holy  Spirit  (27),  and  His 
power  of  miracles  (28).  The  object  of  Christ's 
greatest  works,  such  as  the  raising  of  Lazarus, 
was  that  they  might  "believe"  (29). 


Faith  in  Christ  137 

Its  Relation  to  Divine  Power.  When  Christ  went 
to  the  Father,  those  that  "believed  on  Him"  were 
to  do  greater  works  than  His  (30).  Thus  Stephen, 
"full  of  faith, "  did  great  miracles  (31).  All  things 
are  possible  to  "him  that  believes"  (32),  if  he 
"can  believe."  And  when  the  disciples  failed,  as 
in  the  healing  of  the  epileptic,  it  was  because  of 
their  want  of  faith.  They  were  "faithless"  (33). 

Even  the  mighty  works  of  Christ  were  hindered 
by  the  unbelief  of  men.  In  His  own  country 
He  did  not  do  many  mighty  works  "because 
of  their  unbelief"  (34).  He  marvelled  "because 
of  their  unbelief ' '  (35) .  Even  his  brethren  showed 
their  unbelief  by  urging  Him  to  show  Himself 
and  His  doings  to  the  world.  They  did  not 
"believe  in  Him"  (36). 

When  Peter's  faith  triumphed  and  he  was  con- 
verted, he  could  strengthen  the  brethren  (37). 
They  that  "believed  on"  Christ  were  to  receive 
the  Holy  Spirit  (38),  "through  faith"  (39);  when 
they  "  believed"  (40)— "full  of  faith"  like  Stephen 
(41)  and  Barnabas  (42).  They  "that  believed  on 
Him"  were  to  be  sources  of  life  to  others  (43)— 
Gentiles  and  Jews  alike  (44) — Christ  dwelling  in 
them  "by  faith"  (45),  and  they  hearing  Him  by 
faith,  "the  hearing  of  faith"  (46). 

With  Him  they  were  buried  and  raised  from 
the  dead  "through  the  faith  of"  the  mighty  power 
of  God  (47).  They  were  rooted  in  Him  and  built 
upon  Him  and  made  firm  "in  the  faith"  (48). 


138  The  Law  of  Faith 

In  their  faith  God  counts  them  worthy  of  His 
calling,  and  fits  them  for  "the  work  of  faith"  and 
power  (49) — and  makes  " faithful  man"  able  to 
teach  (50) — and  full  of  inward  joy  and  peace  "in 
believing"  (51).  We  are  children  born  of  God, 
and  "our  faith"  is  victory  over  the  world  (52). 

Faith  in  Christ  followed  upon  His  teachings. 
Men  "believed  on"  Him,  as  in  the  case  of  Nathan- 
ael  (53)  >  °r  because  of  the  saying  of  the  woman  of 
Samaria  (54). 

Faith  followed  His  first  miracles  at  Cana  (55); 
and  His  miracles  in  Jerusalem  (56).  Men  "be- 
lieved"— "believed  on  Him."  Would  the  ex- 
pected Christ  do  more?  (57).  Blind  men  cried  to 
Him  as  Son  of  David  (58).  The  blind  man, 
healed,  "believed"  and  worshipped  Him  as  Son 
of  God  (59). 

Often  men  would  not  "believe"  without  some 
sign  or  miracle  (60).  They  demanded  a  sign  of 
His  authority,  like  the  sign  of  the  manna  that 
Moses  gave,  that  they  "might  see  and  believe 
Him"  (61).  And  Christ  Himself  claimed  men's 
faith  by  reason  of  His  mighty  works,  the  works 
of  the  Almighty.  They  were  to  "believe  Him," 
"believe  His  mighty  works,"  and  "believe  that  God 
sent  Him"  (62).  The  raising  of  Lazarus  from  the 
dead  won  the  faith  of  the  multitude  (63);  and 
roused  the  antagonism  of  the  Jewish  council,  who 
saw  only  a  man  that  carried  the  people  with  him 
and  might  endanger  the  existing  state  of  things. 


Faith  in  Christ  139 

They  would  "believe  on  Him"  (64).  This  Jewish 
fear  of  Christ,  and  this  plot  against  Him,  included 
His  great  witness  Lazarus,  for  many  had  "believed 
on  Jesus"  because  of  him  (65). 

In  like  manner  after  the  death  of  Christ  faith 
in  Him  followed  the  preaching  of  the  apostles. 
Many  "that  heard  believed"  (66).  Faith  fol- 
lowed the  mighty  works  (67).  Many  "believed 
in  the  Lord, "  "believers  were  added  to  the  Lord. " 

But  unbelief  was  not  always  overcome  even  by 
the  mighty  works  of  Christ.  "  Many  believed  not 
on  Him"  (68).  It  ventured  at  the  cross  itself,  to 
demand,  and  to  scoffingly  prescribe  a  sign  that 
they  might  accept  —  that  they  might  "see  and 
believe"  (69).  Then  they  would  "believe  on 
Him"  (70). 

Christ  finds  His  glory  in  the  faith  of  men  who 
"trusted  in  Him"  and  "believed"  (71),  and  in  the 
glory  of  them  that  shall  "believe"  at  last  in  Him 
(72).  He  is  the  precious  rock  of  their  defence  to 
those  "who  believe,"  but  a  point  of  ceaseless 
attack  and  disastrous  defeat  to  those  "that  are 
disobedient"  (73). 

In  the  passages  here  cited  we  find  the  faith-words 
"belief,"  "believe,"  "believers,"  "disobedient," 
"faith,"  "faithful,"  "faithless,"  "trust,"  and 
"unbelief."  In  about  two-thirds  of  these  there 
is  no  expressed  object  for  the  faith-word.  This  is 
generally  so  when  a  noun  or  adjective  is  used. 


140  The  Law  of  Faith 

But  the  verb  "believe"  is  used  in  these  passages 
twice  as  often  without  an  express  object  as  with  one. 
When  the  object  is  expressed,  it  follows  the  verb 
in  the  genitive  or  dative  case  or  with  the  preposi- 
tion "on"  or  "in."  The  genitive  case  uses  the 
preposition  "of"  in  the  passages,  "faith  of  Jesus" 
(74),  "faith  of  the  operation  of  God"  (75),  and 
"  faith  of  the  gospel "  (76) .  These  and  some  other 
phrases  that  are  used  here  have  been  variously 
rendered,  and  will  be  repeated  elsewhere,  as  per- 
haps used  in  another  sense.  They  are  used  here, 
as  though  the  Scriptures  were  speaking  of  the  Jesus 
faith,  the  gospel  faith,  the  resurrection  faith — 
a  trust  in  God  or  in  Christ,  which  rested  on,  or 
grew  out  of,  the  gospel  of  salvation  and  the  mighty 
work  of  God  in  the  resurrection  of  the  Saviour. 

That  the  phrases  without  express  object  relate 
to  Christ  as  the  special  object  of  the  faith,  rather 
than  a  trust  in  God — and  that  a  trust  in  Christ  is 
intended  rather  than  a  faithfulness  to  Him  or  a 
belief  about  Him — appears,  in  general,  by  the 
immediate  context.  Where  the  distinction  is  not 
clear,  or  where  a  double  meaning  may  be  intended, 
the  passage  is  cited  again  in  other  appropriate 
places — such  as  the  words  "believe  me  that  I  am 
in  the  Father"  (77). 

In  the  sense  of  believing  what  was  said  may  be 
considered  the  believing  "that  Jesus  is  the  Son 
of  God"  (78).  So,  perhaps,  the  statement  that 
they  "which  heard  the  word  "  (79)  or  the  preaching 


Faith  in  Christ  141 

(80)  "believed" — or  that  Sergius  Paulus,  "when 
he  saw  what  was  done,  believed,  being  astonished 
at  the  doctrine  of  the  Lord"  (81).  So,  where  the 
same  word  is  repeated  in  another  sense,  e.  g., 
"them  that  believe  (because  our  testimony  was 
believed)"  (82).  So,  the  exhortation  to  strive 
together  "for  the  faith  of  the  gospel"  (83). 

The  faith  of  the  Thessalonians  (84)  has  been 
already  spoken  of  as  faith  in  God.  So,  the  "faith- 
less" condition  of  the  disciples  (85)  as  the  want  of 
such  faith. 

And  some  of  these  phrases  have  been  already 
considered  in  the  sense  of  fidelity,  such  as 
"faithful"  (86),  "their  faith"  (87),  "your  faith" 
(88),  "the  faith"  (89),  and  the  "faith  of  Jesus" 
(90). 

When  his  faith  turned  to  God  the  Father,  with- 
out knowledge  of  the  Saviour  that  had  not  then 
come,  the  believer's  thoughts  rested  more  often 
in  the  Old  Testament  times  on  the  almighty  power 
of  God  and  His  inscrutable  wisdom — the  power 
that  defended  His  people  and  the  justice  that 
avenged  them.  In  the  New  Testament  times  his 
thoughts  and  faith  turned  more  to  the  merciful  and 
forgiving  Father  of  whom  Christ  spoke  and  to  the 
suffering  and  redeeming  Son  on  whom  the  believer 's 
own  eyes  had  rested.  In  the  earlier  days  as 
warriors  and  pioneers  they  faced  open  and  violent 
enemies.  In  the  latter  days  they  were  facing 


142  The  Law  of  Faith 

temptation  and  persecution  in  their  escape  from 
pagan  life  and  Jewish  misbelief. 

The  miraculous  powers,  that  for  the  brief  years 
of  stress  and  trial  followed  the  believer's  faith  in 
Christ — a  special  and  short-lived  gift  of  God  for 
His  special  purpose — brought  into  this  period  acts 
of  power,  which  served  God's  purpose  in  the  open- 
ing of  the  Christian  dispensation  and  have  not 
recurred  in  the  later  years — nor  in  such  frequency 
and  wonder  since  the  opening  of  the  Mosaic 
dispensation. 

And  these  miracles  must  have  recalled  again 
what  in  the  constant  activities  of  a  Jewish  cere- 
monial and  a  formal  righteousness  was  almost 
forgotten — that  it  was  God's  power  that  healed 
and  saved,  and  that  all  the  work  was  the  work  of 
God  alone. 

In  this  chapter  renunciation  of  idols,  baptism, 
community  of  goods  and  labour,  missionary  zeal, 
apostolic  labours,  miraculous  powers  of  persuasion 
and  healing  are  the  works  that  are  connected  with 
the  believer's  faith  in  Christ.  In  Chapter  V.  his 
faith  in  God  is  coupled  with  these,  and  with 
obedience  in  the  wilderness,  courage  in  adversity, 
and  the  heroic  achievements  of  patriarchs  and 
martyrs  that  made  them  witnesses  to  display 
God's  power  and  goodness. 

The  retrospect  in  the  earlier  chapter  is  larger  and 
more  varied.  The  faith  here  spoken  of  as  faith 
in  Christ  reviews  at  most  a  short  period  of  perhaps 


Faith  in  Christ  143 

thirty  or  fifty  years.  In  each  case  it  is  the  history 
of  what  faith  has  done  rather  than  a  depicting  of 
what  it  may  do. 

The  long  history  of  what  faith  has  achieved  and 
endured  in  the  centuries  that  have  followed  is  not 
in  the  pages  of  the  Bible.  Christians  believe  that 
it  has  been  a  continuation  in  varied  ways  of  the 
history  of  faith  that  began  in  Bible  times — not 
without  errors  and  violence  then  and  since. 

The  connection  of  faith  and  conduct  is  so  con- 
stant that  faith  seems  in  many  cases  to  follow  the 
conduct  which  faith  itself  had  at  first  prompted 
and  supported — or  to  grow  out  of  and  increase 
under  such  conduct.  As  experiment  tests  and  con- 
firms hypothesis,  so  the  works  to  which  faith  leads 
test  and  confirm  the  faith.  Obedience  to  a  com- 
mand leads  to  knowledge  of  its  authority  and 
wisdom;  and  he  that  obeys  the  rule  learns  to 
know  its  soundness.  So,  he  that  does  the  works 
of  faith  finds  his  faith  tested  and  strengthened. 
The  convictions  of  faith  are  confirmed  by  the 
experiment  of  action. 

In  this  way  men  become  witnesses  of  the  truth. 
The  truth  finds  its  evidence  in  them.  They  know 
its  healing  power  in  themselves.  Others  see 
what  has  been  wrought,  and  the  truth  is  proved 
to  them  by  its  living  work  in  others. 

Faith  is  thus  seen  to  be  an  active  faculty  in  a 
living  being.  It  is  the  nerve  and  sinew  of  the 
soul.  And  works  of  faith  are  the  exercise  by 


144  The  Law  of  Faith 

which  those  nerves  and  sinews  are  made  large 
and  strong. 

NOTES 

i.     i    Thess.    1:7,    8 — 2.    Acts    18:8 — 3.    Acts    19:4 — 4. 
Acts  16:15 — 5.     Acts  17:4 — 6.    Acts  2:44 — 7.    Acts  4:32 — 
8.     Eph.  1:15 — 9.     Gal.  5:6 — 10.     I  Tim.  5:16 — n.     2  Cor. 
10: 15;  i  Thess.  1:8 — 12.     i  Thess.  1:7 — 13.    Gal.  2: 19,  20 — 
14.     Philip.  2:  17— 15.     Philip.  1:27—16.     I   Thess.    1:3—17. 
Titus  1:6 — 18.     Rev.  14:12—19.     i  Tim.  1 : 12— 20.     i  Tim. 
3: 13 — 21.     Titus  i:  i — 22.     i  Thess.  3:  5 — 23.     i  Tim.  5: 12 — 
24.    2  Tim.  4:7 — 25.     Acts  14:2 — 26.    John  6:29 — 27.    Gal. 
3:2,  5,  14—28.     Gal.  3:5—29-     John  11:  15—30.    John  14: 12 
— 31.    Acts    6:8 — 32.     Mark    9:23 — 33.     Mark    9:19;    Luke 
9:41 — 34.     Matt.    13:58 — 35.     Mark    6:6 — 36.    John    7:5 — 
37.     Luke  22:32—38.     John   7=39—39.     Gal.   3:2,    14;   Eph. 
3:16 — 40.    Acts     19:2 — 41.     Acts     6:5 — 42.    Acts     11:24 — 
43.     John   7:38—44.     Gal.   3:14—45.     Eph.   3:17—46.     Gal. 
3:2—47.     €01.2:12—48.     Col.  2:7— 49.     2  Thess.    1:11—50. 
2  Tim.  2:2 — 51.     Rom.   15:13—52.     i  John  5:4—53.     John 
1 :  50—54.  John  4 :  39—55-     John  2:1154:  53—56.     John  2:23; 
7:3i;9:33—57.    John  7:31—58.     Matt.  9:27;  Mark  10:47; 
Luke  19:38—59.     John  9:35,  38 — 60.     John  4:48 — 61.     John 
6:30—^2.     John  10:  37,  38;  14:  II — 63.     John  n:  45,  48;  12:  II 
— 64.    John     11:48 — 65.    John     12:11 — 66.    Acts     4:4 — 67. 
Acts  4:4;  5:   14;  9:42;   13:12 — 68.    John  12:37 — 69-     Mark 
15:32 — 70.     Matt.  27:42 — 71.     Eph.   1:12;  2  Thess.   1:10 — 
72.    2   Thess.    1:10 — 73.     i    Pet.   2:7 — 74.     Rev.   14:12 — 75. 
Col.  2:12—76.     Philip   1:27—77.    John   14:11 — 78.     i  John 
5:5 — 79«    Acts    4:4 — 80.    Acts    17:4 — 81.    Acts    13:12 — 82. 
2  Thess.  1 : 10 — 83.     Philip  1 :  27—84.     i  Thess.  i :  7,  8 ;  5 :  8—85. 
Mark  9: 19—86.    Acts  16: 15;  i  Tim.  i:  12;  Tit.  1:6—87  Luke 
22:  32 — 88.     i  Thess.  3:  5 — 89.    2  Tim.  4:  7—90.     Rev.  14: 12. 


CHAPTER  XI 

FAITH  IN  CHRIST 
ITS   RELATION   TO   MIND  AND   CHARACTER 

In  its  Relation  to  Human  Intelligence.  Faith 
in  Christ  and  truth  about  Christ,  the  mediator 
and  the  ransom  for  all,  are  the  subject  matter  of 
Paul's  appointed  message  to  the  Gentiles.  He  was 
ordained  a  teacher  "in  faith  and  unity"  (i).  In 
simplicity  and  sincerity  he  holds  for  himself,  as 
he  holds  out  to  others,  "the  mystery  of  the  faith, " 
once  hidden  and  always  marvellous  beyond  the 
power  of  explanation  (2).  Belief  in  Christ  is  itself 
part  of  what  all  confess  to  be  a  gospel  mystery. 
The  incarnation,  the  Spirit  of  holiness,  the  recog- 
nition of  angels,  the  proclamation  to  all,  the  hope 
of  men,  and  the  ascension  are  mysteries.  Christ 
was  "believed  on  in  the  world"  (3).  It  is  one 
mark  of  a  loving  child  of  God  that  he  recognises  and 
loves  Jesus  as  God's  Christ  and  Son.  Because 
Christ  is  the  begotten  Son,  every  true  child  of  God 

N.  B. — The  notes  of  passages  referred  to  by  number  are  found 
at  the  end  of  the  chapter. 

10  145 


146  The  Law  of  Faith 

that  "believes"  is  joined  by  faith  to  Him  (4). 
And  Christ  would  have  His  followers  "believe 
Him"  because  of  His  oneness  with  the  Father. 
For  this  great  reason,  and  not  for  His  works' 
sake  only,  they  may  well  commit  themselves  to 
Him  (5).  And  Christ's  resurrection  is  a  fact,  on 
which  "our  faith"  in  Him  rests,  and  without 
which  it  would  be  without  foundation  as  the  means 
of  our  forgiveness  (6).  We  would  "have  believed 
in  vain"  (7).  The  spirit  that  clothed  Him,  the 
revelation  of  a  righteousness  for  the  heathen,  the 
persecution  of  Him  by  those  to  whom  He  came, 
were  facts  and  signs  to  command  the  faith  of 
heathen.  The  Gentiles  "shall  trust  in  His 
name  "(8). 

Faith  in  Christ  is  obedience  to  God's  law  in  this 
life.  It  is  His  commandment  that  we  should 
"believe  on"  His  son  (9).  They  that  keep  His 
commandments  "keep  the  faith  of  Jesus"  (10). 
Men  cannot  see  God  nor  hear  His  voice.  The  fact 
that  men  have  not  "believed  Him" — have  not 
received  His  Christ — is  proof  that  they  had  not  the 
word  of  God  really  in  them  (n).  The  Jews  in 
Rome,  to  whom  Paul  preached  and  wrote,  could 
not  say  that  the  will  of  God  was  unknown  and  out 
of  reach.  To  them  it  was  close  at  hand.  They 
had  heard  of  Christ's  resurrection  from  His 
witness  Paul.  If  what  their  minds  believed  led 
their  hearts  to  trust  Him  and  their  lips  to  call  Him 
Lord,  it  was  enough.  "The  word  of  faith"  was 


Faith  in  Christ  147 

in  their  mouth  and  in  their  heart  (12).  Him 
whom  we  have  "believed/*  we  learn  to  know  and 
trust  (13).  We  shall  find  that  Christ  is  in  us,  and 
we  can  test  our  faith  by  that,  and  see  whether  we 
"believe  in  the  faith"  (14).  The  presence  of 
God's  spirit  in  us  is  the  evidence  God  offers  us  of 
the  reality  of  our  faith  in  Christ.  Not  to  receive 
this  evidence  is  to  distrust  God,  who  gave  it  to  us. 
Not  to  "believe  on"  Christ  is  not  "to  believe  God," 
and  not  to  "believe  the  record  that  He  gave"  (15). 
Our  "faith"  is  communicated  from  one  to  another 
by  the  acknowledging  for  Jesus  Christ  of  every 
good  thing  that  is  in  the  Christian  (16). 

Never  man  spake  like  Christ.  Some  Samaritans 
"believed  on  Him"  because  of  what  the  woman 
told  about  Him — others  "believed"  because  of 
His  own  words;  and  they  called  Him  the  Saviour 
of  the  world  (17).  The  Jews  thronged  about 
Him  in  the  temple  as  He  taught,  and  "believed  on 
Him"  for  His  words  and  His  miracles  (18). 
And  when  He  appealed  to  His  approaching  cruci- 
fixion as  a  proof  to  doubters  of  His  present  claim 
to  divine  authority  and  origin,  many  "believed  on 
Him  "(19).  Nathanael  like  the  woman  of  Samaria, 
"believed"  because  of  what  Christ  told  him  about 
Himself  (20).  The  man  born  blind  and  healed  by 
Christ  "believed  on  Him,"  and  declared  that  "he 
believed,"  when  Christ  showed  Himself  to  him  as 
the  Son  of  God  (21).  And  in  o'rder  that  His  dis- 
ciples "might  believe,"  He  told  them  before  it 


148  The  Law  of  Faith 

came  to  pass  of  His  betrayal  (22),  and  of  His 
going  to  the  Father  (23). 

Christ  prayed  for  those  who  in  future  days 
should  "believe  on  Him'*  through  the  word  of 
those  who  already  believed  (24).  There  are  many 
records  in  the  Scriptures  of  the  faith  that  followed 
the  words  of  the  apostles.  His  mighty  works  had 
corroborated  all  that  John  the  Baptist  had  said 
of  Him  and  many  "believed  on  Him"  (25).  The 
object  of  John's  testifying  was  "that  all  men 
through  him  might ' '  believe  "  (26) .  Many  of  them 
who  heard  the  preaching  of  Peter  "believed" 
(27).  In  Iconium  Paul  and  Barnabas  went  to- 
gether into  the  synagogue  and  so  spoke  that  a 
great  multitude  "believed"  (28).  And  God  chose 
that  the  Gentiles  should  first  hear  the  gospel 
through  Peter  and  "believe"  (29).  At  Corinth 
the  ruler  of  the  synagogue  "believed  in  the  Lord" 
(30).  And  many  of  the  Corinthians  hearing  Paul 
"believed"  (31) — and  upon  the  preaching  of 
Paul  or  Apollos  (32) ;  or  through  them  (33).  So,  in 
Ephesus  Paul  had  taught  publicly  and  from  house 
to  house  repentance  toward  God  and  "faith 
toward  Christ"  (34).  In  Caesarea,  Felix  and 
Festus  heard  him  "concerning  the  faith  in 
Christ"  (35). 

And  not  only  the  preaching  of  apostles  and 
converts,  but  the  word  of  Scripture,  was  charged 
with  the  gospel  message  and  led  to  belief  in 
Christ.  If  the  Jews  had  believed  Moses,  they 


Faith  in  Christ  H9 

would  have  "believed  Christ"  (36).  In  Berea 
they  searched  the  Scriptures  to  verify  what  was 
said  by  the  apostles  and  therefore  many  of  them 
"believed"  (37).  The  purpose  of  John's  first 
epistle  was  that  men  might  "believe  on  the  Son  of 
God"  and  know  that  they  had  received  eternal 
life  (38).  So,  too,  the  apostolic  decrees  were 
delivered  to  the  churches  to  observe  and  do,  and 
they  were  "established  in  the  faith"  and  increased 
in  numbers  (39).  And  the  gospel  was  so  great  a 
help  and  promoter  of  belief  in  Christ  that  men 
might  naturally  think  there  could  be  no  faith  with- 
out it .  How  should  they  ' '  believe  in  Him  of  whom 
they  had  not  heard,"  and  hear  without  a  preacher? 
(40).  Even  with  preacher  and  hearing,  they  had 
not  all  "believed"  what  they  heard,  nor  obeyed 
(41).  All  had  heard — not  only  Israel  but  the 
"foolish  nations"  (42).  And  Israel,  that  had 
heard  most  fully,  was  a  "disobedient  people"  (43). 
Christians  were  warned  that  they  must  hold 
fast  to  the  truth  which  they  had  heard,  if  they 
would  continue  "in  faith  and  love  in  Christ" 
(44).  Departure  "from  the  faith"  would  follow 
their  giving  heed  to  seducing  spirits  and  false 
teachings  about  practical  duties  (45).  Faith's 
hearing — "the  hearing  of  faith" — in  diligence  and 
prayer — in  simplicity  and  sincerity  and  humility 
and  obedience — had  prepared  the  early  converts 
to  receive  the  Spirit.  No  observance  of  the  law, 
however  strict,  had  accomplished  that  (46).  Men 


150  The  Law  of  Faith 

might  hear  the  truth  about  Christ  from  Christ 
Himself  and  not  "believe  Him."  That  it  was 'the 
truth  was  to  those  who  were  Satan's  children  a 
cause  of  unbelief  (47).  They  had  seen  and  "not 
believed  "  (48).  Some,  like  Thomas,  could  believe 
in  the  risen  Christ,  when  they  had  seen  and 
touched  His  very  wounds.  They  "believed"  be- 
cause they  had  seen,  but  were  "faithless"  and 
not  "believing"  without  some  such  evidence  and 
test  of  their  own  making  (49). 

Like  the  unbelieving  Jews  at  the  cross,  he  would 
prescribe  his  own  form  of  visible  and  outward  proof. 
Christ  granted  it  to  him,  but  declared  those  to  be 
more  blessed  that  received  the  proof  God  offered, 
and  "believed"  when  they  had  not  seen  (50). 
Elective,  will- worshipping  listeners  might  mock 
or  defer  their  hearing,  and  never  become  disciples 
that  clave  unto  Him  and  "believed"  (51).  And 
yet  one  might  hear  and  resist  "ignorantly  in 
unbelief"  and  afterward,  like  Paul,  find  mercy 
in  some  new  evidence  of  truth  vouchsafed  to 
him  (52). 

Faith  turns  to  the  light.  Christ  came  to  bring 
that  light  that  those  who  "believe  on  Him" 
should  not  remain  in  darkness  (53).  The  light 
blinded  the  eyes  of  those  that  were  hardened  in 
heart.  They  were  unwilling  to  see,  and  therefore 
unable  to  "believe"  (54).  Before  light  and 
"faith"  came,  and  until  "the  faith"  should  be 
revealed,  men  were  kept  under  the  law  as  prisoners 


Faith  in  Christ  151 

under  its  condemnation  (55).  Faith  opened  the 
mind's  prison.  With  "little  faith*'  there  was  no 
spiritual  understanding  (56).  After  Nathanael 
"believed,"  faith  would  be  followed  not  only  by 
greater  insight  but  by  larger  visions  (57).  The 
Scriptures  can  make  wise  "through  faith  in 
Christ"  for  our  salvation  (58).  At  last  Christ 
dwells  in  our  hearts  "by  faith,"  so  that  we  may 
be  able  to  comprehend  the  measure  of  that  love 
of  Christ  which  passes  knowledge  (59). 

In  its  Relation  to  Human  Character.    Those 

who  believed  in  Christ  were  to  watch,  stand  fast 
"in  the  faith, "  quit  them  like  men,  be  strong  (60). 
Courage  was  the  natural  sequence  of  "their  faith" 
(61).  "Little  faith"  means  little  courage  in  time 
of  mortal  danger,  as  with  the  disciples  on  the 
stormy  sea  (62) .  They  had  ' '  no  faith ' '  (63) .  So, 
in  the  case  of  Peter  walking  on  the  sea  to  meet 
Jesus  (64).  Faith  in  Christ  might  carry  human 
courage  even  beyond  the  fact  of  death.  They 
need  not  be  afraid,  but  "only  believe"  (65). 
Faithfulness  in  common  service  brought  boldness 
in  "the  faith  which  is  in  Christ"  (66).  Courage 
is  promised  to  him  that  "believes  on  Him"  (67). 
Their  courage  followed  the  conviction  that  He 
whom  they  "believed"  was  able  to  keep  that 
which  they  had  committed  unto  Him  (68). 

We  come  to  God  with  courage  "by  the  faith 
of  Him"   (69).     To  "believe  on  Him"  is  God's 


152  The  Law  of  Faith 

gift.  God  gives  the  courage  of  believers  in  perse- 
cution and  suffering  as  a  sign  to  unbelievers  of 
God's  salvation.  And  He  gives  them  their  own 
fear  as  a  sign  of  their  own  coming  perdition  (70). 

"Their  faith "  makes  "all  that  believe "  examples 
to  one  another  (71).  And  one  disciple,  "faithful 
in  the  Lord,"  stimulates  the  faith  of  others  (72), 
and  supplies  what  is  lacking  in  "their  faith"  (73). 

"Faith  toward  God"  and  zeal  for  the  gospel  of 
Christ  accompany  one  another  (74).  He  that 
"believes  on  Christ"  "  believes  on  God"  that  sent 
Him  (75).  He  that  "believes  in  God,"  "believes 
in  Christ"  (76). 

The  "precious  faith"  obtained  by  all  believers 
rested  in  God's  righteousness,  the  righteousness 
of  Christ  (77).  By  that  faith  Christ  became  to 
them  that  "believe"  the  costly  rock  of  their 
defence — to  the  "disobedient"  the  rock  of  offence 
and  disaster  (78) .  "By  faith ' '  they  were  justified, 
changed,  and  restored,  and  they  found  peace  with 
God  (79).  God  filled  them  with  joy  and  peace 
"in  believing"  (80).  "Believing  in"  Him  they 
rejoiced  (81)  with  "the  joy  of  faith"  (82).  So 
Paul  was  comforted  in  his  affliction  by  good  news 
from  the  Christians  of  Thessalonica  and  "by  their 
faith"  (83)— by  "the  mutual  faith"  of  himself  and 
the  converts  in  Rome  (84).  He  rejoiced  in  the 
steadfastness  of  "their  faith  in  Christ"  (85).  He 
gave  thanks  that  "their  faith"  was  spoken  of 
throughout  the  world  (86)  and  that  "their  faith 


Faith  in  Christ  153 

in  Christ  Jesus"  bore  fruit  in  love  to  all  the  saints 
(87).  The  increase  of  their  "faith  "  was  the  object 
of  his  constant  prayer  (88). 

"The  faith  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ"  makes  a 
man  humble  and  without  respect  of  persons  (89). 
Those  that  "believe"  must  be  indifferent  to  the 
praise  of  men  (90). 

"Faith"  makes  men  patient  in  time  of  trouble 
(91)  and  immovable  in  affliction  (92).  They  that 
"believe  on  Him"  are  able  to  suffer  for  His  sake 
without  fear  (93). 

To  "believe  on  Christ"  and  to  love  man  to- 
gether make  up  the  will  of  God  for  us  (94) .  "Faith " 
works  by  love  (95). 

"Faith"  is  the  bond  of  Christian  fellowship  (96). 
He  that  "trusts  to  himself  that  he  is  Christ's" 
must  have  in  mind  that  he  and  all  brethren  alike 
are  Christ's  (97) .  We  must  do  good  especially  unto 
"the  household  of  faith"  (98).  Timothy  and 
Titus  were  Paul's  own  sons  "in  the  faith"  (99) 
or  "after  the  common  faith"  (100).  Tychicus, 
the  "faithful  minister,"  was  a  beloved  brother  in 
the  Lord  ( i  o  i ) .  "  Faith ' '  makes  the  believers  one 
body,  filled  with  one  spirit  and  one  hope,  the  body 
of  one  Lord  (102).  And  at  last  all  come  in  "the 
unity  of  the  faith"  to  be  united — complete  and 
perfect  in  their  Lord  (103). 

A  good  minister  of  Jesus  Christ  is  nourished 
"in  the  words  of  faith, "  by  the  promise  on  which 
faith  rests,  and  by  the  truth  that  he  has  learned 


154  The  Law  of  Faith 

(104).  He  holds  with  simple  acceptance  the 
marvellous,  long-hidden  truth,  on  which  his  faith 
in  Christ  rests — the  "mystery  of  the  faith"  (105). 
God's  saints  on  earth  are  the  "faithful  in  Christ'* 
(106).  And  all  men  are  called  to  share,  with 
them  that  are  sanctified  "by  faith"  in  Christ,  the 
light,  the  forgiveness,  and  the  inheritance  that  are 
theirs  (107). 

"By  faith"  all  that  are  His,  both  Jew  and 
Gentile,  are  made  alike  pure  and  holy  in  God's 
sight  (108). 

The  loss  of  "faith"  is  shipwreck  (109).  All 
men  "have  not  faith."  The  want  of  it  is 
unreason  and  wickedness  (no). 

In  I  John  v.,  I,  if  we  follow  the  translation  of  the 
Vulgate,  we  trust  Jesus  because  He  is  the  Christ 
and  is  one  with  the  Father,  and  we  are  born  anew 
in  Him  because  of  what  He  is. 

So,  in  John  xiii.,  9,  Christ  told  His  disciples  of 
His  lordship  and  His  approaching  death  so  that 
they  might  still  trust  Him,  because  He  is  the  Christ. 

And  in  John  xiv.,  n,  Christ  bade  Philip  trust 
Him,  because  He  was  in  the  Father  and  the 
Father  was  in  Him. 

These  passages  are,  however,  in  the  meaning  of 
our  English  versions  considered  again  in  Chapter 
XVIII. 

Several  passages  have  also  been  considered  in 
Chapter  IV.  in  the  sense  of  faithfulness,  especially 
in  the  epistles  to  the  Thessalonians. 


Faith  in  Christ  155 

In  the  pastoral  epistles  we  find  faith  in  Christ 
coupled  with  sobriety,  gravity,  temperance,  meek- 
ness, patience,  longsuffering,  charity,  love,  right- 
eousness, purity,  peace,  holiness,  and  godliness. 

Apart  from  the  Scripture  teachings  it  is  a  natural 
thought  that  trust  in  Christ  and  trust  in  God — 
however  wavering  the  trust  or  incomplete  the 
knowledge  of  the  believer — must  tend  toward  a 
character  of  courage,  patience,  justice,  peace,  and 
kindness.  The  most  vague  belief  in  a  Power 
above  that  works  for  our  good  is  a  moving  force 
in  man  toward  inner  changes  like  this.  Intelli- 
gence, character,  and  conduct  are  moved  and 
strengthened  by  that  trust,  which  rests  on  God  and 
on  Christ.  And  they  are  strengthened,  with  the 
trust  itself,  by  clear  and  confident  beliefs  about 
Him.  But  there  is  no  indication  in  nature  or 
human  history  that  such  trust  and  its  resultant 
forces  depend  absolutely  on  any  belief  or  any 
specific  knowledge,  although  much  more  actively 
and  effectively  promoted  by  what  we  call  Christian 
knowledge  and  Christian  belief. 

"Faith's  hearing"  is  the  first  rule  of  a  student — 
an  attentive,  humble,  and  honest  hearkening  to 
truth — a  listening  for  it — an  unprejudiced  accept- 
ance. It  is  the  hearing  of  one  who  counts  the 
cost  and  is  willing  to  be  an  obedient  doer,  if  that 
is  the  cost.  It  requires  an  abundant  self-denial 
of  the  mind  as  well  as  a  self-denial  in  the  life.  The 


156  The  Law  of  Faith 

student  cannot  please  himself;  or  stop  satisfied — 
pleased  with  himself. 

The  Bible  is  essentially  a  practical  book.  It 
presents  matters  about  God  and  man  to  us  as  facts. 
As  facts  they  will  support  any  believer,  for  he  rests 
on  Christ. 

Argument  is  not  presented  for  their  acceptance. 
When  the  Book  was  written,  it  was  for  men,  who 
readily  accepted  what  they  heard.  They  heard  it 
often  from  eye-witnesses.  They  trusted  in  God 
and  Christ.  If  He  is  what  the  Bible  calls  Him, 
that  is  enough  for  any  man  to  rest  on. 

Perhaps  we  have  tried  to  do  as  He  taught,  and 
have  found  that  no  man  ever  spake  like  Him, 
and  have  learned  of  Him  ourselves  unwittingly 
in  the  simple  doing. 

But  we  may  not  have  heard  or  seen  Him.  Per- 
haps we  cannot.  Perhaps  we  have  seen  others  run 
in  His  strength,  with  simpler  and  fuller  beliefs  than 
ours  about  Him,  and  so  running,  win  the  race. 
And  we  are  moved  toward  Him  with  all  our  doubts, 
because  we  know  that  they  received  strength  to 
win.  Perhaps  we  have  read  the  long  records  of 
history,  and  cannot  reject  them  all,  and  can 
follow  Him,  for  what  His  followers  have  manifestly 
received. 

Perhaps  we  are  conscious  of  a  dreadful  need  or  a 
dreadful  guilt  and  find  no  other  help,  and  turn  to 
Him  because  we  see  no  other.  Perhaps  we  touch 
Him  in  the  darkness  and  do  not  know  His  name 


Faith  in  Christ  157 

or  story  and  have  not  heard  Him  speak — but  are 
led  on — in  some  other  name,  and  by  some  human 
voice  and  hand,  that  He  is  using. 

We  do  not  rest  on  what  we  know  or  think 
about  Him  —  much  less  on  any  confidence  of 
ours  about  ourselves  or  Him — nor  on  any  con- 
cealment from  ourselves  of  our  needs  and  dan- 
gers— nor,  least  of  all,  on  our  inability  to  know 
or  to  perform. 

Faith  has  to  do  with  facts.  It  grapples  with 
mysteries.  It  rests  on  the  great  facts  of  God,  the 
great  facts  in  the  life  of  Christ  and  the  great 
mysteries  of  Christ's  person  and  His  power.  It 
listens  to  the  words  of  Scripture — to  the  words  of 
Christ  and  of  His  followers.  It  hears  the  teaching. 
It  looks  into  the  light.  It  culminates  in  vision  and 
wisdom,  and  ends  in  complete  salvation.  There 
is  no  set  order  of  faith  and  knowledge.  Knowledge 
leads  to  faith — faith  leads  to  knowledge. 

Faith  is  the  desire  and  effort,  the  aspiration  and 
ambition,  that  always  leads  toward  a  higher 
knowledge.  It  is  childlike  and  within  the  reach 
of  the  youngest  and  simplest  children.  It  is  not 
far  off  and  unattainable  to  any.  It  lurks  in  every 
human  heart  that  is  conscious  of  a  higher  power 
and  goodness  than  his  own,  and  of  the  evil  and  the 
need  that  are  his.  It  speaks  by  every  tongue  that 
can  give  thanks  and  praise  and  can  cry  out  in 
prayer.  Our  knowledge  of  the  Most  High  is  very 
little  at  best,  but  even  in  the  infant  or  the  heathen 


158  The  Law  of  Faith 

heart  there  is  a  tiny  seed  that  may  grow  into  know- 
ing "as  we  are  known." 

Both  knowledge  and  character  wait  on  faith. 
The  object  and  end  of  faith  may  not  be  clear  to 
any  human  mind.  How  few  can  say  we  know 
"whom  we  believe"!  How  few  see  the  far-off 
goal  toward  which  we  hasten!  Him,  whom  we 
ignorantly  worship,  we  all  reach  after — with 
uncertain  beliefs — with  hesitating  trust — with 
faith  marred  by  pride — and  faithfulness  marred 
by  the  love  of  self. 

NOTES 

i.  i  Tim.  2:7 — 2.  i  Tim.  3:9 — 3.  i  Tim.  3:16 — 4.  I 
John  5: 1—5.  John  14:  n— 6.  i  Cor.  15:  14,  17—7.  i  Cor. 
15:2 — 8.  Matt.  12:21—9.  i  John  3:  23 — 10.  Rev.  14:12 — 
ii.  John  5:38 — 12.  Rom.  10:8 — 13.  2  Tim.  1:12 — 14.  2 
Cor.  13:15 — 15.  i  John  5:10—16.  Phil.  6—17.  John  4:39, 
41,  42 — 18.  John  7:31 — 19.  John  8:30 — 20.  John  1:50 — 
21.  John  9:35,  36,  38—22.  John  13:19—23.  John  14:29 — 
24.  John  17:20 — 25.  John  10:41,  42 — 26.  John  1:17 — 27. 
Acts  4:  4— 28.  Acts  14:  i— 29.  Acts  15:  7— 30.  Acts  18:8— 
31.  Acts  18:8—32.  i  Cor.  15:11—33-  i  Cor.  3*5—34- 
Acts  20:21 — 35.  Acts  24:24 — 36.  John  5:46,  47 — 37.  Acts 
17: 12—38.  i  John  5: 13—39.  Acts  16:  5—40.  Rom.  10:  14— 
41.  Rom.  10: 16 — 42.  Rom.  10: 18,  19 — 43.  Rom.  10:21 — 
44.  2  Tim.  1:13—45.  i  Tim.  4:1—46.  Gal.  3:1,  2—47. 
John  8:45,  46 — 48.  John  6:36 — 49.  John  20:27,  28 — 50* 
John  20:29 — 51-  Acts  17:32,  34—52-  *  Tim-  i:i3—53- 
John  12:46—54.  John  12:39—55.  Gal.  3:23—56.  Mark 
16:8—57.  John  1:50—58.  2  Tim.  3:15—59-  Eph.  3: 17— 


Faith  in  Christ  159 

60.  i  Cor.  16:13—61.  2  Pet.  1:5—62.  Matt.  8:26—63; 
Mark  4:40;  Luke  8:25 — 64.  Matt.  14:31 — 65.  Mark.  5:36. 
Luke  8:50 — 66.  i  Tim.  3:13 — 67.  Rom.  9:33;  10:11—68. 
2  Tim.  1:12 — 69.  Eph.  3:12 — 70.  Philip.  1:29 — 71.  I 
Thess.  1:7,  8 — 72.  i  Cor.  4:17—73.  i  Thess.  3:10 — 74.  i 
Thess.  1:8—75.  John  12:44 — 76-  John  14:  I— 77-  2  Pet 
l:i — 78.  I  Pet.  2:7 — 79.  Rom.  5:1 — 80.  Rom.  15:13 — 
81.  i  Pet.  1:8 — 82.  Philip.  1:25—83.  I  Thess.  3:6,  7—84. 
Rom.  1:12—85.  Col.  2:5— 86.  Rom.  1:8—87.  Col.  1:34; 
Eph.  1:15,  16 — 88.  i  Thess.  3:10 — 89.  James  2:1—90. 
John  5:44 — 91.  2  Thess.  1:4—92.  i  Thess.  3:2,  3,  7—93. 
Philip.  1:29 — 94.  I  John  3:23 — 95.  Gal.  5:6—96.  Philem. 
6;  2  Thess.  1:3 — 97.  2  Cor.  10:7—98.  Gal.  6:  10 — 99.  i 
Tim.  1:2 — 100.  Tit.  1:4 — 101.  Eph.  6:21 — 102.  Eph.  4:4, 
5 — 103.  Eph.  4:13 — 104.  i  Tim.  4:6 — 105.  i  Tim.  3:9 — 
106.  Eph.  1:1 — 107.  Acts  26:18 — 108.  Acts  15:9 — 109. 
I  Tim.  1:9 — no.  2  Thess.  3: 2. 


CHAPTER  XII 

FAITH  IN   CHRIST 

ITS  RELATION  TO  DIVINE  FORGIVENESS  AND 
SALVATION 

Conversion.  Faith  in  Christ  is  the  door  of 
access  to  God.  God  "opened  the  door  of  faith" 
(i).  We  draw  near  with  "assurance  of  faith" 
(2).  "By  the  faith  of  Him"  we  have  access 
with  confidence  (3).  At  Antioch  a  great  num- 
ber "believed"  and  turned  unto  the  Lord  (4). 
In  Ephesus  many  "believed"  and  confessed  (5). 
In  Christ's  lifetime  chief  rulers  "believed  on  Him" 
but  feared  to  confess  Him  (6).  Converts  "be- 
lieved" and  were  baptized  (7).  How  should  men 
come  to  God  and  not ' '  believe  "  ?  (8) .  How  should 
men  call  on  Him  in  whom  they  had  not  "believed  " ? 
(9).  And  even  Peter  could  not  turn  toward  God, 
"converted,"  when  his  "faith"  failed  (10). 

Forgiveness.  The  faith  of  the  woman  at 
Simon's  feast,  shown  by  her  acts  of  love,  was 

N.  B. — The  notes  of  passages  referred  to  by  number  are  found 
at  the  end  of  the  chapter, 

1 60 


Faith  in  Christ  161 

followed  by  Christ's  forgiveness  of  her  sins: 
"Thy  faith  hath  saved  thee"  (11).  The  "faith" 
of  the  paralytic  and  those  who  brought  him  to 
Christ  was  followed  by  the  forgiveness  of  his 
sins  (12).  He  that  "believes  on"  Christ  is  not 
condemned  (13).  He  has  put  himself  into  Christ 
by  faith.  But  he  that  "believes"  not  is  under 
the  eternal  condemnation  of  all  sin  and  was  al- 
ready condemned  (14);  and  shall  be  condemned 

(15). 

Christ  came  to  save  the  world,  not  to  condemn 
it  for  unbelief  (16).  The  bringing  out  of  darkness 
into  light,  deliverance  from  Satan's  power,  for- 
giveness of  sins,  inheritance  of  glory,  are  the 
blessings  which  the  gospel  offers  to  all  who  are 
" sanctified  by  faith"  in  Christ  (17). 

All  that  "believe  in  Him"  shall  be  forgiven  (18). 
In  the  great  sacrifice  and  death  of  Jesus  Christ  God 
set  forth  Christ  as  His  mediator,  a  reconciliation 
by  means  of  the  "faith"  that  brought  men  into 
their  Lord's  sacrifice.  By  it  God  revealed  and 
gave  His  righteousness  and  His  forgiveness — a 
righteousness  for  believers  who  were  sinners — a 
revelation  and  explanation  now  of  His  forgiveness 
for  sins  of  all  past  ages  (19).  We  do  not  trust  in 
a  dead  man,  but  in  a  living  Lord.  If  Christ  is  not 
raised  up,  your  sins  are  not  forgiven  and  "your 
faith  is  vain"  (20).  The  Christian  faith,  which 
puts  us  into  Christ  and  on  Him  as  our  life  and 
hope,  would  not  exist. 


162  The  Law  of  Faith 

God's  Righteousness.  The  Gospel  has  made 
known  a  new  righteousness  by  gift  of  God — a 
righteousness  that  is  obtained  by  him  that  "be- 
lieves in  Jesus"  (21)  This  is  the  righteousness 
God  gives  to  "all  that  believe" — the  righteousness 
"by  faith  of  Jesus  Christ."  It  makes  "all  that 
believe"  sons  of  God  with  Christ — the  righteous 
children  of  a  righteous  God  (22).  They  are  to 
live  and  grow  in  Christ  from  this  new  germ  of  life 
into  the  perfect  Son,  the  very  image  of  the  right- 
eous God.  Having  received  this  righteousness 
"by  faith,"  we  have  our  peace  with  God  through 
Christ  (23).  All  that  "believe"  are  justified 

(24). 

Christ  is  the  object  and  completion  of  the  law — 
to  make  righteous  all  that  "believe."  And  this 
faith-righteousness  is  not  an  unattainable  per- 
fection. It  can  be  received  by  every  heart  that 
"believes,"  every  humble  and  contrite  heart — 
and  by  every  mouth  that  confesses,  all  faithful, 
unboasting  lips  (25). 

Even  for  the  Jews  it  is  neither  an  impossible 
obedience  to  a  perfect  and  searching  moral  law, 
nor  a  formal  obedience  to  the  forms  and  substitutes 
provided  by  a  ceremonial  law.  It  is  a  righteous- 
ness "by  the  faith  of  Christ"— the  Christ-faith— 
for  all  that  have  "believed  in  Christ"  (26). 
Christ  in  man's  place  and  man  in  His — Christ 
the  Redeemer  and  the  sufferer,  man  made  right- 
eous—  Christ  fulfilling  the  law's  demands,  man 


Faith  in  Christ  163 

receiving  the  Spirit's  promise.     This  is  received 
by  man  "through  faith"  (27). 

The  very  object  of  legal  condemnation  was 
redemption.  The  promise  was  for  "them  that 
believe  " — to  be  received  "  by  faith  of  Jesus  Christ. " 
Like  a  servant  of  the  Father,  the  law  led  men  to 
Christ.  And  it  prepared  the  way  for  faith,  when 
men  had  by  failure  learned  humility  and  penitence. 
And  they  could  then  receive  by  faith  a  righteous- 
ness by  gift  (28).  There  was  no  redemption  and 
no  Christ  for  those  who  stood  on  the  law,  the 
obedient  righteous.  The  righteousness  for  be- 
lievers was  to  be  sought  "by  faith."  Faith's 
only  work  was  love — in  believers,  the  love  for 
God  and  man — in  God,  His  loving  grace  to  men 
(29) .  He  that  is  found  in  Christ  finds  and  receives 
in  Him  that  righteousness,  which  comes  from 
God  "by  faith"  and  comes  to  him  "through  the 
faith  of  Christ"  (30). 


The  New  Creature.  To  be  of  the  light  one  must 
be  in  it.  There  is  no  other  single  emblem  for  life 
and  joy  and  hope  and  truth  and  knowledge.  Light 
stands  for  all  of  these,  and  Christ  is  the  Light. 
If  we  "believe  in  the  light,"  we  bring  ourselves 
into  it,  and  expose  ourselves  to  its  life-giving 
and  its  searching  rays.  And  we  become,  with  all 
our  sins  and  weakness,  children  of  light  and  growth 
(31).  He  came,  that  those  who  "believe  on" 
Him  should  not  remain  in  darkness  (32).  To  those 


164  The  Law  of  Faith 

that  "believe  on"  Him  and  receive  Him  the  power 
is  given  to  become,  with  Him,  sons  of  God  (33). 
He  that  "believes"  is  born  of  God,  for  Jesus  is 
the  Christ  of  God,  the  Son  of  God.  Man's  faith 
tests  his  love  for  God,  for  every  one  that  loves 
God  the  Father  loves  Christ  the  Son  (34).  As 
children  of  God  we  conquer  the  world  by  "our 
faith."  He  that  believes  is  conqueror;  for  Jesus, 
whom  his  faith  trusts  and  follows,  is  "the  Son  of 
God"  (35). 

We  are  no  longer  being  led  like  little  children 
by  the  Father's  servant,  by  the  law,  to  Christ; 
but  we  are  now  "by  faith  in  Him"  numbered 
with  God's  children,  and  no  longer  under  tutors 
and  masters  (36).  We  that  were  dead  are  raised 
and  made  alive  with  Christ.  We  that  were  sinners 
are  "saved  through  faith"  (37). 

There  are  many  beliefs.  There  is  but  "one 
faith."  And  by  that  faith  in  Christ  we  come 
into  Christ,  and  "in  the  unity  of  the  faith"  into 
one  body,  the  perfect  man,  Christ  Jesus  (38). 

Faith  and  Life.  Those  that  "believe  in "  Christ 
shall  not  perish  but  have  everlasting  life  (39). 
"Hope  in  Christ"  is  not  confined  to  this  life 
only  (40). 

He  that  "believes  on  the  Son"  has  everlasting 
life,  but  he  that  does  not  "believe  the  Son"  shall 
not  see  life.  He  remains  as  he  was — under  the 
wrath  of  God  (41). 


Faith  in  Christ  165 

Christ  is  the  means  of  spiritual  life — the  bread 
of  life — the  water  of  life.  He  that  "believes  on" 
Him  shall  not  hunger  or  thirst  (42).  God's  will 
is  resurrection  and  everlasting  life  for  those  that 
"believe  on"  Christ  (43).  Those  that  "believe 
on"  Him  have  everlasting  life  (44).  He  is  the 
power  of  life.  Dead  men  are  brought  to  life  in 
Him,  if  they  "believe  in  Him " — and  are  kept  alive 
(45).  None  that  "believe  on"  Him  shall  be 
confounded  (46).  Peter  might  deny  Him,  but 
would  not  leave  Him.  There  was  no  other  that 
brought  any  promise  of  life  to  come.  They  knew 
that  He  was  Christ,  and  they  "believed"  (47). 
But  there  was  one  disciple  that  "believed  not" 
and  betrayed  Him  (48). 

The  purpose  of  the  gospel  was  that  men  might 
"believe,"  and  that  believing,  they  might  have 
life  through  Christ  (49).  It  was  God's  plan. 
Those  who  were  enlisted  for  eternal  life  "believed" 

(50). 

In  Paul,  Christ  showed  God's  goodness  for  a  pic- 
ture and  pattern  to  those  who  should  afterwards 
"believe  on"  Christ  and  win  everlasting  life  (51). 
By  that  faith  in  Christ— the  Christ-faith—  "the 
faith  of  the  Son  of  God"— Paul  lived  unto  God, 
for  Christ  lived  in  Paul  (52). 

Faith  and  Salvation.  We  attain  unto  salvation 
by  faith  in  Christ.  Her  "faith "  saved  the  woman 
that  showed  her  love  for  Christ  at  Simon's  feast 


1 66  The  Law  of  Faith 

(53).  Paul  told  the  jailer  at  Philippi  to  "believe 
on  Christ"  and  he  and  his  household  should  be 
saved  (54).  And  Christ  in  His  last  words  declared 
that  he  that  "believed"  and  was  baptized  should 
be  saved  (55).  And  those  whom  God  has  made 
new  for  the  eternal  and  heavenly  inheritance  are 
"kept  by  faith"  for  that  finished  salvation  (56). 

Perhaps  in  these  and  other  passages  salvation 
means  what  the  believer  seeks,  and  often  more. 
It  meant  all  that  he  in  faith  was  ready  to  receive — 
deliverance  from  present  danger,  or  from  con- 
demnation, or  from  sin,  or  entrance  into  the  eternal 
inheritance  of  God's  children,  His  saints  in  light — 
or  all  of  these.  Often  the  earnest  desire  for  escape 
from  disease  or  death,  as  it  grew  into  confidence 
in  God  and  in  Christ,  grew  into  a  higher  and  more 
passionate  aspiration,  and  received  far  more  than 
the  believer  at  first  sought  or  desired. 

To  every  one  that  "believes"  the  power  of  the 
gospel  is  for  salvation  (57).  That  gospel  brings 
salvation  to  men,  unless  they  have  "believed  in 
vain"  (58) — unless  the  Christ  in  whom  they  have 
believed,  the  Christ  of  whom  the  gospel  speaks, 
is  but  a  fable.  What  human  wisdom  failed  to  do, 
God  accomplished  in  His  wisdom  and  His  gospel, 
in  contrast  to  human  wisdom  and  in  contradiction 
of  it.  It  pleased  Him  by  grace  "to  save  them  that 
believed"  (59).  God's  wisdom  was  foolishness  to 
human  theologies,  for  it  offered  a  righteousness 
to  the  unrighteous  and  a  salvation  to  the  lost. 


Faith  in  Christ  167 

By  grace  sinners  were  saved  through  faith— by 
the  gift  of  God,  without  a  goodness  of  their  own 
(60) .  After  they  had  heard  the  gospel  of  salvation 
and  had  "believed,"  they  were  filled  with  the 
Spirit  as  a  sign  of  the  future  inheritance  (61). 
They  were  made  to  know  in  their  own  experience 
the  power  of  God  toward  those  who  "believe," 
like  the  mighty  power  that  raised  Christ  from  the 
dead  (62). 

Disciples  were  exhorted  to  "continue  in  the 
faith"  (63).  The  Scriptures  can  make  men  wise 
unto  salvation  "by  faith"  in  Christ  (64).  Right- 
eousness and  salvation  were  brought  to  the 
unrighteous  and  the  lost.  It  was  no  present 
achievement  of  his  own  nor  any  far-off  and  un- 
attainable hope.  With  the  heart  man  "believes" 
and  that  is  his  righteousness.  With  the  mouth 
he  makes  confession,  and  that  is  his  salvation  (65). 
It  is  God's  righteousness  and  God's  salvation. 
Man's  heart  receives — his  lips  acknowledge.  Our 
"faith"  ends  in  salvation  (66). 

A  number  of  the  passages  cited  here,  where  the 
believing  is  coupled  with  the  preaching  or  with  the 
conjunction  that  are  cited  in  Chapters  XVIII.  or 
XIX.,  as  in  the  meaning  required  by  the  English 
text. 

In  many  other  passages  and  in  the  greater  part 
of  the  passages  cited  in  this  chapter  no  object  of 
the  faith  is  expressly  named,  but  the  context 


i68  The  Law  of  Faith 

seems  to  show  the  faith  to  be  a  trust  in  Christ. 
In  doubtful  cases  they  are  also  cited  in  earlier 
chapters  as  a  trust  in  God. 

In  general,  here  and  in  Chapter  VIII.  the  believ- 
er's trust  in  God  and  in  Christ  is  spoken  of  as  the 
occasion  or  reason  for  God's  forgiveness  or  as  the 
sinner's  means  of  obtaining  forgiveness,  his  at- 
titude for  receiving  it. 

In  six  passages  in  the  New  Testament  the  faith 
is  spoken  of  as  if  it  were  essential  to  a  man's 
salvation — the  only  attitude  in  which  he  could 
receive  the  gift.  These  passages  are  as  follows: 
He  that  cometh  to  God  must  believe  that  He  is 
and  that  He  is  a  rewarder  of  them  that  diligently 
seek  Him  (67).  He  that  believeth  not  the  Son 
shall  not  see  life;  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth 
on  him  (68).  He  that  believeth  not  is  condemned 
already,  because  he  hath  not  believed  in  the  name 
of  the  only  begotten  son  of  God  (69).  Preach 
the  gospel  to  every  creature.  He  that  believeth 
not  shall  be  damned  (70).  If  ye  believe  not  that 
I  am  he,  ye  shall  die  in  your  sins  (71).  The 
unbelieving  shall  have  their  part  in  the  lake  which 
burneth  with  fire  and  brimstone  (72). 

Two  of  these  passages,  in  the  words  of  our 
English  version,  express  specific  required  beliefs. 
They  are  spoken  of  as  such  in  Chapters  XVIII.  and 
XIX.  When  read  here  with  the  other  passages, 
the  probability  seems  stronger  that  God's  existence 


Faith  in  Christ  169 

and  goodness  and  Christ's  Messiah-ship  are  spoken 
of  rather  as  grounds  for  the  confidence  in  Him,  than 
as  specific  beliefs  about  Him  which  are  essential 
to  the  soul's  life.  They  are  the  only  passages  in 
the  Scripture  which  seem  to  condition  man's 
hope  on  any  specific  belief  about  God  and  about 
Christ — a  belief  that  up  to  this  time  has  been 
unattainable  and  impossible  to  the  great  majority 
of  the  human  race. 

In  each  of  these  six  passages  the  love  and  the 
wrath  of  God,  the  light  and  the  darkness,  are  put 
side  by  side.  Perhaps  the  passage  in  John  iii.,  18. 
(as  part  of  the  great  proclamation  of  the  gospel  in 
verses  16  to  19)  is  the  key  to  all  the  others. 
Salvation  is  offered  to  all  men  as  a  gift — salvation 
by  grace — salvation  in  Christ.  Part  of  the  contents 
of  that  gospel  is  the  recital  of  what  is  and  always 
was  true:  that  by  the  law  there  is  no  salvation, 
but  only  condemnation.  The  passage  in  Mark 
xvi.,  1 6,  is  the  recital  of  the  gospel  which  Christ 
has  just  commanded  the  preaching  of. 

The  heart  that  receives  God's  gift  is  the  believ- 
ing heart — however  indistinct  its  beliefs — however 
doubting  its  trust — however  faulty  its  faithfulness. 
And  how  often  the  most  faithful  seems  to  have 
no  faith! 

The  gift  is  to  be  received  by  all  who  will.  There 
is  no  other  way  and  never  has  been.  That  will  is 
not  a  resolution  to  believe — but  rather  a  resolve 


170  The  Law  of  Faith 

to  trust  the  .unseen  Father,  following  where  He 
seems  to  lead,  learning  what  He  seems  to  teach, 
bearing  what  He  seems  to  lay  on  us,  doing  what  He 
seems  to  set  before  us,  aspiring  to  the  highest  hope, 
and  growing  into  a  belief  (and  at  last  a  knowledge) 
of  what  He  is  to  us. 

In  the  passages  cited  here  there  seems  to  be 
something  more  like  explanation  than  is  generally 
found  in  the  Bible. 

Righteousness,  life,  and  salvation  belong  together 
— in  reason  and  in  the  Scriptures.  They  cannot 
be  won  or  earned.  They  are  God's  gift.  The 
sinner  must  be  redeemed  and  cleansed.  The 
earth-born  sons  of  Adam  must  become  (as  in 
God's  sight  and  purpose  they  were  in  the  beginning 
and  always)  the  heaven-born  sons  of  God. 

This  condition  is  performed  by  uniting  them 
to  Christ  more  closely  than  to  Adam  and  making 
them  new  creatures  in  Him.  This  involves  man's 
willingness,  his  faith.  It  involves  God's  will, 
the  loving  gift  of  His  Son — and  Christ's  will,  the 
giving  of  Himself — for  men. 

Perhaps  God's  purpose  is  already  foreshadowed 
in  the  earliest  words  of  Scripture  about  the 
creation  of  man  in  God's  image.  The  whole 
unfinished  history  of  redemption  is  the  history  of 
God's  work  in  fashioning  and  finishing  that  image. 

NOTES 

i.  Acts  14:27 — 2.  Heb.  10:22 — 3.  Eph.  3:12 — 4.  Acts 
11:21 — 5.  Acts  19:18 — 6.  John  12:42 — 7.  Acts  8:13,  37 — 


Faith  in  Christ  171 

8.  Heb.  11:6—9.  Rom.  10 :  14— 10.  Luke  22:  32 — II.  Luke 
7:48,  50 — 12.  Matt.  9:2;  Mark  2:5;  Luke  5:20—13.  John 
3:18 — 14.  John  3:18 — 15.  Mark  16:  16 — 16.  John  12:47 — 
17.  Acts  26:18 — 18.  Acts  10:43 — 19.  Rom.  3:25 — 20.  i 
Cor.  15:17 — 21.  Rom.  3:26 — 22.  Rom.  3:22 — 23.  Rom. 
5:1 — 24.  Acts  13:29 — 25.  Rom.  10:4,  6,  8,  10 — 26.  Gal. 
2:16 — 27.  Gal.  3:13,  14—28.  Gal.  3:22,  24 — 29.  Gal.  5: 
5,  6—30.  Philip.  3:8,  9—31.  John  12:36 — 32.  John  12:46 
—33.  John  i:  12—34.  i  John  5:  11—35-  i  John  5:4,  5—36. 
Gal.  3: 25,  26 — 37.  Eph.  2:  5,  7,  8—38.  Eph.  4:  5,  13 — 39.  John 
3:14,  16—40.  i  Cor.  15:19—41.  John  3:36—42.  John  6: 
55 — 43.  John  6:40—44.  John  6:47 — 45.  John  11:25,  26— 
46.  Rom.  9:33 — 47.  John  6:68,  69 — 48.  John  6:64 — 49. 
John  20:31 — 50.  Acts  13:48 — 51.  i  Tim.  1:16 — 52.  Gal. 
2:19,  20—53.  Luke  7: 50— 54.  Acts  16:31—55.  Mark  16: 
16 — 56.  i  Pet.  1:5 — 57.  Rom.  1:16 — 58.  i  Cor.  15:2— 
59.  I  Cor.  1:21 — 60.  Eph.  2:8,  9 — 61.  Eph.  1:13,  14 — 62. 
Eph.  1:18-20 — 63.  Acts  14:  22 — 64.  2  Tim.  3:  15 — 65.  Rom. 
10 :  8,  10 — 66.  i  Pet.  i :  9 — 67.  Heb.  n:  6— 68.  John  3:  36 — 
69.  John  3:18 — 70.  Mark  16:  16 — 71.  John  8:24 — 72. 
Rev.  21 : 8. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

FAITH   IN  WORD,    PROPHET,   AND  MIRACLE 

Words  of  Promise.  Abraham  believed  the 
promise  of  the  seed.  He  "believed  in  the  Lord" 
and  He  counted  it  to  him  for  righteousness 
(i).  David  "hoped  in"  God's  word  (2).  He 
"trusted  in"  His  word  (3),  and  in  His  judgments 
(4).  At  the  Red  Sea  Israel  "believed  the  Lord" 
(5) — His  promise  that  they  should  go  on  dry 
ground  through  the  sea.  When  they  saw  His 
work,  they  "believed  His  words"  (6).  But  in  the 
wilderness  they  forgot  God  and  did  not  "believe 
His  word, "  nor  listen  to  His  voice  (7). 

The  gospel  preached  to  Israel  then  and  to  us 
now — the  word  of  God's  promise — was  nothing 
without  the  hearer's  faith.  Those  that  "believe" 
enter  into  God's  promised  rest.  The  Jews  had 
failed  to  enter  in  because  of  their  "unbelief," 
that  God  would  bring  them  into  Canaan  according 
to  His  promise  (8).  And  a  man  may  disbelieve 
God's  promise  of  the  heavenly  rest,  and  fall  after 
the  same  example  of  "unbelief"  (9).  The  people 

N.  B. — The  notes  of  passages  referred  to  by  number  are  found 
at  the  end  of  the  chapter. 

172 


Faith  in  Word,  Prophet,  and  Miracle  173 

whom  God  chooses  have  the  advantage  of  His 
word.  Although  they  do  not  "believe,"  His 
truth  remains  unchanged  (10).  Who  "believed" 
the  prophecy  of  a  Messiah  despised  and  slain? 
(n).  And  when  the  time  was  fulfilled  and  the 
kingdom  at  hand,  Christ  began  by  calling  men  to 
repent  and  "believe  the  gospel "  (12).  Some  heard, 
but  did  not  hearken.  They  did  not  "believe" 
what  they  heard  (13).  "Faith  comes  by  hearing" 
when  Christ  speaks  (14).  And  "faith's  hearing" 
is  exercised  by  the  once  indifferent  but  now  peni- 
tent heathen  more  readily  than  by  the  resisting 
and  "disobedient"  Jews  (15).  For  all  His  miracles 
they  "believed  not  on  Him"  (16). 

Christ  came  as  a  light.  If  men  hear  His  words 
and  "believe"  not,  they  are  judged  by  those 
words  (17).  They  were  words  both  of  promise 
and  warning.  They  were  a  light  that  made  life 
flourish  and  exposed  corruption.  Unbelievers 
"could  not  believe,"  because  their  eyes  were 
blinded  and  their  hearts  were  hardened  (18). 
Christ  called  the  woman  of  Samaria  to  "believe" 
Him  that  an  hour  was  coming,  when  God  should 
be  worshipped  in  spirit  in  every  place  (19). 

The  word  was  like  a  sower's  seed.  If  it  fell  on 
the  hard  roadway,  it  was  snatched  away,  so  that  the 
soil  did  not  receive  it,  and  "believe. "  And  if  it  fell 
on  stony  ground,  the  soil  did  not  receive  it  in  its 
depths.  It  "received"  and  "for  a  while  believed" 
— and  the  seed  had  no  root  and  withered  (20) . 


174  The  Law  of  Faith 

The  saving  power  of  the  gospel  of  Christ  is  for 
him  "that  believes"  (21).  The  nobleman  "be- 
lieved the  word"  of  Jesus,  when  He  said  to  him 
that  his  son,  lying  at  home  at  the  point  of  death, 
should  live  (22).  And  Mary  and  Martha  "be- 
lieved" Him,  when  He  claimed  to  have  the  power 
of  endless  life  (23).  And  by  that  power  He  raised 
up  Lazarus. 

David  could  answer  the  reproach  of  enemies, 
for  he  "trusted  in"  God's  word  (24). 

Christ's  mother,  Mary,  "believed"  and  was 
blessed  by  the  performance  of  those  things  which 
were  told  her  from  the  Lord  (25).  And  the  father 
of  John  the  Baptist  became  dumb  until  John's 
birth,  because  he  did  not  "believe"  the  angel's 
word  (26). 

Words  of  Warning.  "By  faith"  Noah,  being 
warned  of  God,  prepared  the  ark,  and  became  heir 
of  the  righteousness  "which  is  by  faith"  (27). 
By  faith  the  people  of  Nineveh,  warned  by  Jonah, 
"believed  God"  and  repented  (28).  Ahaz  was 
warned  that,  if  he  would  not  "believe,"  Judah 
should  be  overwhelmed  by  Assyria  (29).  And 
Jeremiah  declared  that  the  Babylonian  would 
enter  the  gates  of  Jerusalem,  but  the  world  would 
not  "believe"  it  (30).  Neither  would  the  Jews 
"believe,"  though  it  was  plainly  told  them  (31). 

When  human  warnings  went  unheeded,  it  was 
said  that  the  persons  warned  "believed  them"  not; 


Faith  in  Word,  Prophet,  and  Miracle   175 

as  in  the  case  of  the  conspiracy  against  Gedaliah 
(32).  So,  in  Paul's  warning  of  shipwreck  to  the 
centurion  who  "believed  the  master"  and  set  sail 
(33).  And  the  disciples  were  told  by  Christ  not 
to  "believe,"  when  men  falsely  proclaimed  His 
coming  (34). 

Words  of  Prophecy.  Believing  in  God  may  be 
shown  by  believing  His  prophets,  and  their  words 
of  promise  or  warning  or  commandment.  Strength 
and  prosperity  were  promised  to  the  people  of 
Judah,  if  they  "believed  in  the  Lord"— "believed 
His  prophets"  (35).  Israel  would  not  "believe" 
the  prophets,  when  they  foretold  the  victory  of 
Babylon  (36)  and  of  Assyria  (37) .  And  Christ  told 
the  Jews  that  if  they  had  "believed  Moses"  they 
would  have  "believed"  Him.  Their  disbelief  of 
Moses  led  to  disbelief  of  Christ  (38).  Moses,  in 
whom  they  "trusted,"  would  be  their  judge  (39). 
And  the  despair  of  Christ's  disciples  at  His  death 
showed  that  they  were  "slow  to  believe"  what 
the  prophets  had  spoken  (40).  Paul  worshipped 
God,  "believing"  what  was  written  in  the  law  and 
the  prophets  (41).  And  he  was  confident  that 
King  Agrippa  "believed  the  prophets"  (42).  The 
priests  and  elders  could  not  deny  the  authority  of 
John  the  Baptist.  And  they  could  not  admit  his 
authority  and  consistently  refuse  to  "believe  him" 
(43).  Publicans  and  harlots  "believed  him," 
but  the  priests  and  elders  did  not  (44). 


176  The  Law  of  Faith 

Signs  and  Wonders.  Lest  the  Israelites  should 
not  "believe"  Moses,  God  gave  him  signs  of  His 
authority — and  still  another  sign,  if  they  should 
"not  believe  these  signs"  (45).  And  the  people 
"believed"  (46).  And  at  the  Red  Sea  Israel  saw 
that  great  work  which  the  Lord  did  upon  the 
Egyptians,  and  "believed"  the  Lord  and  His 
servant  Moses  (47).  In  the  wilderness  God  gave 
signs  to  Moses  that  the  people  might  "believe 
Him"  (48).  But  they  "believed"  not  for  His 
wondrous  works"  (49).  For  all  the  signs  God 
showed  among  them  they  did  not  "believe  Him" 
(50).  But  David  "hoped  in"  God's  judgments 

(51). 

It  was  men  "of  little  faith"  that  could  not  see 
that  God's  clothing  the  grass  was  a  sign  that  He 
would  much  more  clothe  them  (52).  The  gift 
of  tongues  was  for  a  sign  to  "them  that  believe 
not"  (53).  The  raising  up  of  Christ  was  a  sign 
to  those  who  "believe  on  Him"  (54),  and  who 
"by  Him  believe  in  God"  (55). 

And  unbelievers  who  despised  that  sign  were 
doing  again  as  their  fathers  had  done  in  Habak- 
kuk's  day .  They  would  not  ' '  believe, ' '  although  it 
was  made  clear  to  them  (56). 

In  many  of  the  words  cited  here  trust  in  the  word 
itself  and  in  the  Lord  from  whom  it  came  are  so 
blended  that  it  seems  proper  to  also  cite  them 
elsewhere  in  the  latter  meaning.  In  like  manner, 


Faith  in  Word,  Prophet,  and  Miracle  177 

many  words  seem  to  express  not  only  a  trust  in 
some  promise  or  warning,  but  a  belief  of  something 
said,  and  are  also  cited  elsewhere  in  the  latter 
sense. 

Words  of  promise  and  warning  and  prophecy 
all  point  forward  to  something  that  is  yet  to  come. 
Heeding  them  is  an  act  of  trust.  Words  of  narra- 
tion relate  to  something  that  is  past.  Accepting 
them  as  true  is  an  act  of  belief.  Their  object  may 
be  encouragement  or  warning.  The  belief  may 
lead  to  trust,  which  shows  itself  in  action.  Words 
of  explanation  and  argument  express  the  reasoning 
of  the  speaker  on  facts  implied  or  stated.  Their 
acceptance  by  another  may  be  governed  by  his 
belief  of  the  facts  or  by  his  confidence  in  the 
authority  of  the  speaker.  It  is  in  our  acceptance 
of  what  is  spoken,  therefore,  that  belief  and  trust 
approach  one  another  most  closely.  The  believing 
mind  looks  backward  and  forms  opinions.  The 
trusting  heart  looks  forward  and  goes  on  to  pur- 
poses and  actions.  Even  here  we  cannot  determine 
fully  the  relation  of  belief  and  trust.  We  cannot 
even  say  that  our  trust  depends  absolutely  on  our 
belief.  It  does  so  to  a  large  extent  in  our  daily 
affairs.  But  even  in  these  our  acknowledged  belief 
and  our  actual  confidence  are  often  contradictory. 
We  often  "hope  against  hope" — and  trust  in  spite 
of  our  belief.  It  is  well  for  the  world's  work  and 
the  world's  kindness  that  the  heart  does  not  wait 
to  receive  directions  from  the  mind — and  that  our 


178  The  Law  of  Faith 

confidence  and  love  take  shape  in  action  faster 
than  our  studies  grow  into  beliefs. 

It  is  our  trusting  faith  that  "is  the  substance  of 
things  hoped  for."  Trust  and  belief  are  both  an 
"evidence  of  things  not  seen."  Trust  sees  the 
unseen  future  and  the  unseen  spirit.  Belief  sees 
the  half -seen  past  and  the  present  world. 

Faith  in  the  signs  and  wonders  was  a  belief 
that  this  was  God's  work — that  He  was  mighty 
and  would  perform.  It  was  also  a  trust  in  God 
and  in  His  messengers — in  Moses — and  in  Christ — 
or  it  led  to  that. 

Trusting  God's  wonders  or  His  words  is  trusting 
Him.  Such  trust  is  always  like  the  far  more 
frequent  expressions  of  trust  in  Him  in  its  relation 
to  human  character  and  conduct  and  to  God's 
favour  and  forgiveness.  Many  of  the  passages 
here  cited  simply  show  the  promise  or  miracle  as 
a  reason  for  the  faith,  and  the  working  of  the  faith 
itself  is  not  shown  in  this  passage  but  in  the  longer 
story  or  argument  that  follows  it. 

To  believe  a  product  was  in  his  own  day  a  differ- 
ent thing  from  what  it  is  in  ours.  Was  he  a  real 
prophet  of  God?  The  marks  of  a  prophet  were  not 
always  unmistakable.  Men  looked  for  holiness — 
consistency — simplicity — and  knowledge.  And 
sometimes  the  truth  and  the  knowledge  could 
only  be  tested  by  the  future.  A  prophet  must 
be  trusted. 


Faith  in  Word,  Prophet,  and  Miracle  179 

If  a  prophet  indeed — his  contemporaries  did  not 
need  to  ask  whether  it  was  his  word.  And  no 
man  could  ask  whether  his  word  was  true.  A 
prophet's  word  must  be  believed. 

A  prophet  speaks  God's  word  and  to  His  own 
people  he  speaks  God's  commandment — or  warn- 
ing— or  promise — and  perhaps  what  we  now  call 
a  "prophecy"  (which  is  either  warning  or  promise 
or  both).  By  those  of  his  own  time,  to  whom  he 
spoke,  the  prophet  must  be  obeyed. 

To  them  at  least  the  prophet's  word  involved 
every  great  form  of  faith — their  confidence,  their 
belief,  and  their  faithfulness. 

To  men  of  a  later  time  of  the  same  people  the 
prophet  Moses  still  spoke  directly.  It  was  not  as 
easy  in  the  later  days  to  know  whether  the  words 
were  his.  But  the  word,  once  recognised  as  his, 
was  for  them  the  same  as  for  their  forefathers  at 
Sinai.  And  perhaps  to  all  men,  in  spirit  if  not 
in  letter,  the  same  commandments  and  warnings 
and  promises  still  come. 

As  to  the  "prophecy"  of  the  prophet,  men  of  his 
time  were  to  expect  the  things  foretold — and  to 
prepare  and  wait  for  them — while  men  of  the  later 
day  can  only  recognise  and  wonder  at  the  fulfil- 
ment. It  was  in  this  latter  sense  chiefly  that  the 
appeal  to  the  prophets  was  made  in  the  time  of 
Christ — and  some  fulfilments  by  Himself  made 
clear.  But  it  is  not  to  posterity — nor  in  general 
for  them — that  the  prophet  spoke.  Perhaps  the 


i8o  The  Law  of  Faith 

effort  to  make  it  seem  so  has  led  to  much 
misunderstanding  of  the  ancient  word. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  passing  of  a  long  period 
since  the  prophet  spoke  has  increased  the  difficulty 
of  identifying  the  prophet  or  the  word  spoken. 
For  those  to  whom  the  word  was  spoken  there  was 
no  such  question.  For  us,  to  whom  these  words 
come  only  as  lessons  in  history  from  an  ancient 
time,  there  is  neither  wisdom  nor  profit  in  the 
question,  and  its  best  answers  bring  us  no 
knowledge. 

In  like  manner,  the  evidence  of  the  prophetic 
character  and  authority,  so  far  as  it  was  supported 
by  visible  signs  and  wonders,  appealed  more 
strongly  to  the  men  that  saw  the  signs  than  it  could 
ever  at  a  later  day  appeal  to  those  who  read  that 
others  saw. 

To  those,  for  whom  the  word  was  spoken  and 
the  sign  given,  the  sign  confirmed  to  their  eyes 
what  their  ears  heard.  When  we  read  that  the 
word  was  so  confirmed,  and  know  that  this  story 
comes  to  us  from  early  and  artless  days,  it  satisfies 
our  natural  thought,  that  a  God  who  is  invisible 
and  exalted  could  hardly  have  spoken  to  men 
without  strange  signs — at  least,  could  not  have 
spoken  in  the  childhood  of  the  race.  The  wonder- 
ful message — with  no  signs  of  wonder — would 
have  been  to  us  more  incredible  than  any  sign 
or  wonder  seems  to-day.  That  the  word  itself  is 
no  common  word  of  man  is  now  shown  to  us  by  the 


Faith  in  Word,  Prophet,  and  Miracle    181 

miracle  of  its  history  in  the  earth  for  thousands 
of  years  now  past. 

Faith  in  the  signs  and  wonders  was  a  belief  that 
this  was  God's  work — that  He  was  mighty  and 
would  perform.  It  was  also,  or  it  led  to,  trust  in 
God  and  in  His  messengers — in  Moses — and  in 
Christ. 

The  faith  and  the  belief  act  on  each  other — 
each  strengthening  the  other.  Without  the  other 
belief  was  half-superstition  or  credulity,  and  faith 
was  mixed  with  fear  and  doubt. 

NOTES 

i.  Gen.  15:6 — 2.  Ps.  119:49,  74,  81,  114,  147 — 3.  Ps. 
119:42 — 4.  Ps.  119:43 — 5.  Ex.  14:31 — 6.  Ps.  106:12 — 7. 
Ps.  106:24 — 8.  Heb.  4:2,  3,  6 — 9.  Heb.  4:11 — 10.  Rom. 
3:3 — ii.  Is.  53:1 — 12.  Mark  1:15 — 13.  Rom.  10:  16 — 14. 
Rom.  10:17 — 15.  Rom.  10:21 — 16.  John  12:37 — 17.  John 
12:47,  48 — 18.  John  12:39 — 19'  John  4:21 — 20.  Luke  8: 
12,  13 — 21.  Rom.  1:16 — 22.  John  4:50 — 23.  John  11:26 
— 24.  Ps.  119:42 — 25.  Luke  1:45 — 26.  Luke  1:20 — 27. 
Heb.  11:7 — 28.  Jonah  3:5 — 29.  Is.  7:9 — 30.  Lam.  4:12 — 
31.  Hab.  1:5 — 32.  Jer,  40: 14— 33.  Acts  27:  11—34.  Matt. 
24:23,  26 — 35.  2  Chron.  20:20 — 36.  Hab.  1:5 — 37.  2 
Kings  17:14 — 38.  John  5  =46,  47 — 39.  John  5 145 — 40.  Luke 
24:25 — 41.  Acts  24: 14 — 42.  Acts  26 -.27 — 43.  Matt.  21:25; 
Mark  11:31;  Luke  20:  5 — 44.  Matt.  21 : 32 — 45.  Ex.  4:  8,  9 — 
46.  Ex.  4:31 — 47.  Ex.  14:31 — 48.  Ex.  19:9 — 49.  Ps.  78: 
32—50.  Numb.  14:11 — 51.  Ps.  119:43 — 52.  Matt.  6:30; 
Luke  12:28—53.  i  Cor.  14:22 — 54.  Rom.  4:24 — 55.  I  Pet. 
1:21 — 56.  Acts  13: 41. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

FAITH   IN  MAN 

God's  Faith  in  Man.  There  is  little  trustworthi- 
ness in  man.  God  "put  no  trust  in  His  servants " 
(i),  or  His  saints  (2).  And  when  men  began  to 
believe  in  Him,  Jesus  did  not  "commit  Himself 
to  them"  (3). 

And  yet  God  had  "committed "  His  oracles  unto 
the  Jews  (4);  and  His  gospel  unto  Paul  (5).  He 
had  "committed "  it  unto  Paul  for  the  Gentiles  and 
unto  Peter  for  the  Jews  (6). 

Man's  Faith  in  Man.  This  does  not  always 
grow  with  man's  experience.  His  own  familiar 
friend ' '  in  whom  he  trusted ' '  lifts  up  his  heel  against 
him  (7).  He  fears  to  "trust  in  a  friend"  or  "put 
confidence  in  a  guide"  (8).  If  men  trust  in  an 
ally  they  may  be  confounded  * '  because  they  hoped ' ' 
(9).  In  the  distress  of  Jerusalem  a  man  had  to 
take  heed,  every  one  of  his  neighbour,  and  "trust 
not  in  any  brother"  (10).  So,  David  had  learned 
that  it  was  better  to  trust  in  the  Lord  than  to 

N.  B.— The  notes  of  passages  referred  to  by  number  are  found 
at  the  end  of  the  chapter. 

182 


Faith  in  Man  183 

"put  confidence  in  man"  or  in  princes  (n).  He 
could  not  "put  his  trust  in"  them,  for  they  had 
neither  power  to  help  nor  strength  to  endure  (12). 

An  army  may  set  its  pickets,  and  be  smitten 
because  they  " trusted  unto"  them  (13).  False 
leaders  have  risen  and  boasted  themselves,  but 
those  that  " obeyed"  them  were  brought  to 
nought  (14). 

To  "put  their  trust  in"  King  Jotham  was  like 
trusting  the  shadow  of  the  bramble  (15).  The  men 
of  Schechem  "put  their  confidence  in"  Gaal  and 
were  overthrown  (16).  The  Assyrian  called  on 
the  Jews  not  to  "believe"  Hezekiah  as  a  deliverer 
(17).  In  Uzziah's  time  they  ' '  trusted  in ' '  Samaria 
( 1 8),  as  in  Asa's  time  they  had  "relied  on  the  King 
of  Syria  "  (19) .  But  in  Hezekiah's  day  they  began 
to  learn  not  to  "stay  upon  him  that  smote  them" 
but  to  "stay  upon  the  Lord"  (20).  The  Assyrian 
enemy  at  the  gates  of  Jerusalem  challenged  the 
people  not  to  "trust  on"  Pharaoh,  that  broken 
reed  (21).  The  prophets  of  the  Lord  warned  them 
not  to  "trust  in  the  shadow  of  Egypt"  (22) — not 
to  "stay  on"  that  tottering  wall  (23) — nor  make 
it  their  "expectation"  (24).  Once  they  had  made 
Assyria — now  Egypt — "their  confidences,"  but 
God  had  rejected  both  (25) .  And  he  would  punish 
those  that  "trust  in"  Egypt  (26).  Egypt  would 
be  humbled  and  would  be  no  more  the  "confidence " 
of  the  house  of  Israel  (27). 

A  man  may  "believe"  the  captain  of  the  ship 


184  The  Law  of  Faith 

and  be  shipwrecked  (28).  A  man  may  preach 
with  enticing  words,  but  "faith'*  stands  not  in  the 
wisdom  of  men,  but  in  the  power  of  God  (29). 
"Confidence  in"  an  unfaithful  man  in  time  of 
trouble  is  like  a  broken  tooth  and  a  foot  out  of 
joint  (30).  He  that  "trusts  in"  man  and  lets  his 
heart  depart  from  God  is  like  the  parched  weeds 
of  the  desert  (31).  The  sons  of  Jacob  reported 
that  they  had  found  Joseph  in  Egypt,  and  Jacob's 
heart  fainted  for  he  "believed  them  not"  (32). 
And  it  is  wise  not  to  "believe"  the  hater  and  dis- 
sembler (33) — nor  those  that  have  dealt  treacher- 
ously (34) — although  their  words  are  fair. 

But  love  still  "believes"  (35).  A  husband's 
heart  "safely  trusts  in"  a  good  wife  (36).  And 
Paul  speaks  constantly  of  having  "confidence  in" 
his  converts  (37);  and  in  their  obedience  (38) — 
and  "confidence  in  the  Lord"  that  they  will  obey 
(39) .  Even  in  urging  them  to  do  better,  the  apostle 
is  "persuaded  better  things"  of  them — things  that 
befit  men  that  are  saved  (40).  The  house  of 
Eliakim  "hangs  upon  him  "  the  glory  of  his  father's 
house  (41).  And  fidelity  in  common  things  is  the 
basis  on  which  men  "commit"  great  things  to  one 
another's  trust  (42). 

In  many  of  the  passages  here  cited  or  in  the  near 
context  faith  in  God  or  faith  in  Christ  is  also 
spoken  of.  Man's  variable  nature,  the  contending 
spirits  in  man,  mark  the  inevitable  difference 
between  all  such  trust  in  man  and  trust  in  the 


Faith  in  Man  185 

unchangeable  God.  The  results  of  such  a  trust 
mark  the  same  difference. 

But  man's  faithfulness  and  God's  trust  in  man 
are  also  spoken  of  in  the  Scriptures.  If  man  were 
wholly  unfaithful  and  always  unworthy  of  trust, 
he  would  not  be  a  creature  made  in  God's  image. 
If  he  were  perfectly  faithful,  as  God  is,  he  would 
not  be  a  creature  of  human  race  subject  to  tempta- 
tion and  to  sin.  Perhaps  there  cannot  be  a  finite 
creature  with  a  free  and  faultless  will. 

The  passages  cited  in  this  chapter  show  this 
human  faithfulness  at  fault.  Its  frequent  failure 
is  a  common  theme  of  the  Scriptures.  No  fellow- 
man — no  nation  of  men — is  a  rock  to  rest  upon 
like  God  or  in  God's  stead. 

NOTES 

i.  Job  4:18 — 2.  Job  15:15 — 3.  John  2:24 — 4.  Rom. 
3:2 — 5.  i  Cor.  9:  17;  i  Thess.  2:4;  I  Tim.  i:  n;  Tit.  1:3 — 6. 
Gal.  2:7 — 7.  Ps.  41:9 — 8.  Mic.  7:5 — 9.  Job  6:20 — 10. 
Jer.  9:4 — II.  Ps.  118:8,  9 — 12.  Ps.  146:3,  4 — 13.  Judg. 
20:36 — 14.  Acts  5:36,  37— 15.  Judg.  9: 15 — 16.  Judg.  9:26 
— 17.  2  Chron.  32:15 — 18.  Amos.  6:  i — 19.  2  Chron.  16:  7 — 
20.  Is.  10:20 — 21.  2  Kings  18:19-21,  24;  Is.  36:4-6,  9 — 
22.  Is.  30:2,3—23.  Is.  30:12—24.  Is.  20:6—25.  Jer. 
2:37 — 26.  Jer.  46:25—27.  Ezek.  29:16 — 28.  Acts  27:11— 
29.  I  Cor.  2:5—30.  Prov.  25:19—31.  Jer.  17:5—32. 
Gen.  45:26—33.  Prov.  26:25—34.  Jer.  12:6—35.  i  Cor. 
13:7 — 36.  Prov.  31:11 — 37.  2  Cor.  2:3;  7:16;  8:22;  Gal. 
5:10 — 38.  Philem.  21—39.  2  Thess.  3:4—40.  Heb.  6:9 — 
41.  Is.  22:24 — 42-  Luke  16:  II. 


CHAPTER  XV 

VAIN  FAITH 

Trust  in  Riches.  They  that  "trust  in  their 
wealth"  and  boast  in  their  riches  can  none 
of  them  redeem  his  brother  nor  give  to  God  a 
ransom  for  him  (i).  If  I  made  gold  "my  hope," 
I  should  deny  the  God  that  is  above  (2).  The 
righteous  shall  laugh  at  the  man  that  made  not 
God  his  strength  but  "trusted  in  his  riches'*  (3). 
He  that  "trusts  in  his  riches "  shall  fall  (4). 
The  cities  that  "trust  in  their  works"  and  "in 
their  treasures"  shall  be  taken  (5),  and  shall  be 
desolate  (6). 

Men  that  are  rich  are  charged  not  to  "trust 
in  uncertain  riches"  but  in  the  living  God  (7). 
And  Christ  Himself  has  said  that  it  is  hard  for  them 
that  "trust  in  riches"  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
God  (8). 

Trust  in  Vanity.  If  a  man  is  deceived  and 
"trusts  in  vanity,"  vanity  will  be  his  recompense 
(9).  The  wrongdoer  and  the  liar  "trust  in" 


N.  B. — The  notes  of  passages  referred  to  by  number  are  found 
at  the  end  of  the  chapter. 

186 


Vain  Faith  187 

vanity  (10).  "His  confidence"  shall  be  torn  away 
like  a  tent  (n).  His  "hope"  shall  perish  like  a 
spider's  web  (12). 

The  hail  shall  sweep  away  the  "refuge"  of  lies 
and  the  waters  shall  overflow  the  hiding-place  (13). 
Men  cannot  "trust  in  lying  words"  and  claim  that 
they  are  God's  people,  and  not  do  His  will  (14). 
They  often  "trust  in  lying  words,"  that  cannot 
profit  (15).  The  man  who  "trusts  in  falsehood" 
forgets  God  (16). 

The  prophet  that  makes  the  people  "trust  in  a 
lie"  should  be  rejected  (17).  And  Christians  are 
warned  not  to  "believe  every  spirit"  without 
testing  its  divine  authority,  because  many  false 
prophets  will  appear  (18). 

The  fenced  walls,  "wherein  the  people  trusted, " 
are  thrown  down  (19) — and  their  fenced  cities  and 
their  harvests  and  cattle  are  destroyed  (20). 
Wise  men  climb  over  and  break  down  the  strong 
places  that  are  the  "confidence"  of  such  a  people 
(21).  Men  trust  in  streams  of  water  and  in  their 
dryness  find  confusion,  where  they  "had  hoped" 
(22).  They  cannot  harness  the  wild  ox  to  the 
plough  and  "trust  him,"  because  his  strength  is 
great,  or  "believe  him"  that  he  will  bring  in  the 
harvest  (23).  Waiting  on  God  "in  confidence"  is 
strength,  but  men  refuse  to  trust  Him  and  seek  to 
fly  upon  horses  (24).  They  "stay  on"  the  horses 
and  "trust  in"  the  chariots  of  Egypt,  but  they 
look  not  unto  the  Holy  One  of  Israel  (25).  Safety 


1 88  The  Law  of  Faith 

and  victory  come  from  God.  Disaster  falls  on 
those  who  "trust  in"  chariots  and  horses  (26), 
or  in  their  bow  (27),  or  their  armour  (28). 

If  men  "trust  in"  idols,  they  are  swept  away 
(29) — as  powerless  as  the  idols  and  the  gold  and 
silver  they  are  made  of  (30).  There  is  no  profit 
to  him  that  "trusts  in"  them  (31). 

The  house  of  Israel  was  ashamed  of  Bethel, 
"their  confidence"  (32).  But  when  God  founds 
Zion  and  appoints  the  defence,  the  poor  of  the 
people  may  "trust  in  it"  (33). 

A  man  should  "look  to"  his  Maker  and  not  to 
the  altars  of  groves  or  images,  the  work  of  his 
hands  (34) .  But  when  men  ' '  trust  in  "  the  temple, 
even  that  shall  fall  like  Shiloh  (35).  When  they 
"trust  in"  the  land  of  peace,  even  that  shall  be 
overwhelmed  (36) .  He  that  worships  God  in  spirit 
and  rejoices  in  Christ  can  put  no  "confidence  in" 
ordinances  or  circumcision — cannot  "trust  in  the 
flesh"  (37). 

Men  cannot  put  their  trust  in  any  of  the  things 
that  they  possess  or  make.  They  cannot  trust 
their  riches,  their  cities,  their  arms,  their  hills, 
their  waters,  their  golden  images,  nor  even  their 
wisdom — nor  their  holy  temple — nor  their  know- 
ledge of  God's  law  itself. 

And  yet  the  uncertain  nature  of  material  things, 
and  the  variable  nature  of  men,  and  the  venture 
of  our  faith  on  them,  are  themselves  a  school  of 


Vain  Faith  189 

faith.  By  that  venture  men  have  learned  to 
know  not  only  the  weight  and  strength  and  heat 
and  cold  of  visible  things,  but  the  utility  or  danger, 
the  right  or  wrong,  of  invisible  moral  and  spiritual 
things.  This  is  a  means  of  testing  truth — often 
slow  in  its  working — and  often  requiring  other 
tests  and  further  knowledge.  But  in  the  physical 
world  the  disaster  of  one  is  the  safety  of  many. 
Can  it  be  that  in  the  world  of  the  spirit  we  can  or 
will  only  learn  by  the  disaster  of  another?  At 
least  we  have  a  long  and  full  record  of  things  that 
have  brought  disaster  and  a  code  of  rides  that  need 
not  be  worked  out  again.  For  in  the  most  essen- 
tial things  of  the  spirit,  as  of  the  common  daily 
life,  the  experiments  have  been  made  and  the  laws 
have  been  written  long  generations  before  our 
time. 

They  are  written  in  human  history.  And  this 
is  the  teaching  of  the  Book  of  Faith.  The  faith 
of  man  finds  no  sure  resting  place  but  in  his  Maker 
and  his  Lord. 

NOTES 

I.  Ps.  49 :  6—2.  Job  3 1 :  24—3.  Ps.  52 :  7—4.  Prov.  1 1 :  28 
—5.  Jer.  48:7—6.  Jer.  49:4— 7-  i  Tim.  6:17—8.  Mark 
10:24—9.  Job  15:31—10.  Is.  59:4—11.  Job  18:14—12 
Job  8:13,  14—13.  Is.  28:17—14.  Jer.  7:4—15.  Jer.  7:8— 
16.  Jer.  15:25—17.  Jer.  28:15;  29:31—18.  I  John  4:1 — 
19.  Deut.  28:52—20.  Jer.  5:17 — 21.  Prov.  21:22 — 22. 
Job  6:  20 — 23.  Job  39:11,  12 — 24.  Is.  30:15—25.  Is.  31:1 


190  The  Law  of  Faith 

— 26.  Ps.  20:7 — 27.  Ps.  44:6 — 28.  Luke  11:22 — 29.  Deut. 
32:27—30.  Ps.  115:8;  135:18;  Is.  42:17—31.  Heb.  2:18— 
32.  Jer.  48:13—33.  Is.  14:32—34.  Is.  17:7,  8—35.  Jer. 
7 : 14—36.  Jer.  12 : 5—37.  Philip  3 : 3,  4. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

ASSURANCE  AND  CONFIDENCE 

Fixed  by  God.  Samuel  was  " established"  to 
be  a  prophet  of  the  Lord  (i),  and  God  promised 
that  He  would  make  for  Eli's  successor  "a  sure 
house'*  (2).  And  the  Lord  said  to  David  that 
He  would  "settle  him"  in  his  house  and  in  his 
kingdom  (3);  and  would  make  for  him  "a  sure 
home ' '  (4) .  So,  the  Lord  would  fasten  Eliakim  as  a 
nail  "in  a  sure  place"  (5).  Solomon  prayed  that 
God's  promise  to  David  might  "be  established" 
(6),  and  that  the  word  that  He  had  spoken  unto 
David  might  "be  verified"  (7).  God  had  pro- 
mised that  David's  kingdom  and  throne  should  be 
"established"  forever  (8),  and  that  He  would 
"set"  his  son  upon  his  throne  (9).  God  had 
promised,  and  David  prayed,  that  his  house  might 
be ' '  established  forever  "  ( i  o) .  Daniel  called  upon 
God  to  make  the  interpretation  of  Nebuchadnez- 
zar's dream  "sure"  (n).  And  God  made  known 
the  desolation  of  Ephraim  that  "should  surely  be" 

(12). 

N.  B. — The  notes  of  passages  referred  to  by  number  are  found 
at  the  end  of  the  chapter. 

191 


192  The  Law  of  Faith 

God's  commandments  are  "sure"  (13).  The 
testimony  of  the  Lord  "is  sure"  (14).  His 
mercies  are  "sure"  (15).  His  covenant  shall 
"standfast"  (16). 

The  righteous  "walk  surely"  (17).  They  dwell 
in  "sure  dwellings"  (18) — a  "sure  house"  (19). 
Their  waters  shall  "be  sure"  (20).  And  God  has 
given  "assurance"  to  men  of  an  appointed  day 
of  judgment  (21). 

Disciples  are  "assured  of  the  things"  which 
they  have  learned  in  the  Scriptures  (22).  God's 
judgments  upon  the  disobedient  will  be  "of  long 
continuance"  (23). 

Fixed  by  Man.  The  Levi tes  were  in  ' '  set  offices ' ' 
(24).  They  made  "a  sure  covenant"  (25).  And 
Joseph  told  his  brethren  that  if  they  brought 
Benjamin  to  him,  their  word  would  "be  verified" 
(26). 

Moses'  hands  were  stayed  up  by  Aaron  and  Hur 
and  were  "steady"  until  sunset  (27).  And  when 
the  Lord  is  exalted,  wisdom  and  knowledge  will 
be  the  "stability"  of  the  times  (28). 

Human  Safety.  God  led  Israel  "safely" 
through  the  Red  Sea  (29).  The  beloved  of  the 
Lord  shall  "dwell  in  safety"  (30).  He  may  lie 
down  in  peace  and  sleep,  for  the  Lord  makes  him 
"dwell  in  safety"  (31).  Israel  shall  "dwell  in 
safety "  (32).  They  "dwelt  safely  "  all  the  days  of 


Assurance  and  Confidence        193 

Solomon  (33).  And  when  the  people  are  gathered 
again  from  the  dispersion,  they  shall  "dwell 
safely"  (34).  God  will  plant  them  in  the  land 
"assuredly"  (35).  Jerusalem  shall  be  "safely 
inhabited"  (36). 

And  this  promise  that  Israel  shall  again  "dwell 
safely"  in  the  land  is  repeated  many  times  by 
Ezekiel  (37).  So  too  in  older  times  (38) — and  in 
the  days  of  the  promised  Messiah  (39). 

The  wise  shall  walk  in  the  way  "safely"  (40). 
Those  that  turn  toward  the  Lord  shall  be  "secure" 
because  there  is  "hope"  (41).  The  needy  shall 
lie  down  "in  safety"  (42). 

Confidence.  When  a  mighty  man  rises  up,  no 
man  is  "sure  of"  life  (43).  A  wise  man  fears  God 
and  departs  from  evil,  but  a  fool  "is  confident" 
(44).  The  "hope"  of  the  wicked  is  destruction 
(45).  A  lamp  is  despised  by  him  that  "is  at  ease" 
(46).  But  a  man  shall  not  devise  evil  against  his 
neighbour,  who  "dwells  securely"  near  him  (47). 

The  sons  of  Jacob  came  upon  Shechem  "boldly" 
(48).  Gideon  smote  the  Midianites,  for  the  host 
of  Midian  "was  secure"  (49).  So,  too,  the  people 
of  Laish  were  "careless"  and  "secure"  and  Dan 
smote  them  (50).  Moab  had  "settled  on  his  lees" 
(51).  Israel  itself  had  become  a  valley  of  dry 
bones.  Their  "hope"  was  lost  (52).  The  wicked 
pull  off  the  robe  from  those  that  pass  by  "  securely '' 
(53). 

13 


194  The  Law  of  Faith 

The  effect  of  righteousness  is  quietness  and 
"assurance"  (54).  The  righteous  are  "bold"  as 
a  lion  (55).  In  the  fear  of  the  Lord  is  "strong 
confidence"  (56).  The  disobedient  shall  have 
"trembling"  hearts  and  "no  assurance"  of  their 
life  (57) .  But  the  righteous  man  "has  hope "  even 
in  his  death  (58).  Israel  shall  build  houses  and 
"dwell  with  confidence"  (59). 

The  apostles  preached  the  kingdom  of  God 
"with  all  confidence"  (60).  By  their  love  for  one 
another  disciples  "assure  their  hearts"  in  God's 
sight  (61).  Christians  have  access  to  God  "with 
confidence"  (62).  They  are  "confident"  that 
God  who  has  begun  a  good  work  will  perform  it 
(63).  They  are  "confident"  that  in  their  death 
they  will  be  present  with  the  Lord  (64). 

Paul  had  "confidence"  in  the  churches  that  they 
would  submit  to  his  judgment  (65).  He  had 
"confidence"  in  their  obedience  (66)  and  in  their 
generosity  toward  the  poorer  brethren  (67).  He 
hoped  not  to  be  disappointed  in  "this  confident 
boasting"  (68).  He  "trusted"  in  their  acqui- 
escence (69).  He  "trusted"  that  he  had  their 
approval  (70),  and  that  in  the  time  of  testing  they 
would  not  find  themselves  or  him  reprobate  (71). 
He  desired  not  to  " be  bold  "  with  that  "confidence  " 
which  he  thought  he  might  have  to  show  against 
the  evildoers  among  them  (72).  He  had  "con- 
fidence" in  their  own  need  of  him  and  in  God's 
will  to  keep  him  among  them  (73).  Christians 


Assurance  and  Confidence        195 

grew  more  "confident"  by  reason  of  Paul's  bonds 
and  more  bold  to  speak  the  word  without  fear  (74). 

Self-confidence.  God  is  not  pleased  when  men 
"trust  in"  oppression  or  robbery  (75).  He  will 
not  deliver  those  that  "trust  in"  their  own  beauty 
(76) — or  in  their  righteousness  (77) — or  in  their 
wickedness  (78) — or  in  their  own  way  or  in  their 
greatness  (79).  What  was  Job's  strength  that  he 
should  "hope"?  What  "help"  was  there  in  him? 
(80)  His  days  were  spent  without  "hope"  (81). 

Loss  comes  to  those  that  "dwell  carelessly  "  (82). 
The  "careless  ones"  tremble  (83).  God  sends  a 
fire  among  them  that  "dwell  carelessly"  (84). 
Babylon  dwelt  "without  care"  (85).  Nineveh 
was  a  rejoicing  city  that  "dwelt  carelessly"  (86). 
He  that  "trusts  in"  his  own  heart  is  a  fool  (87). 
He  that  is  of  a  "proud"  heart  stirs  up  strife  (88). 
Christ  spoke  the  parable  of  the  publican's  prayer 
to  those  who  "trusted  in"  themselves  that  they 
were  righteous  and  despised  others  (89). 

The  Jew  was  "confident"  that  he  was  a  guide  of 
the  blind,  a  light  to  them  which  were  in  darkness 
(90).  Paul  like  a  real  Jew  worshipped  God  in 
spirit, rejoiced  in  Christ,  and  had  no  "confidence 
in"  the  flesh;  although  if  any  one  could  have  such 
confidence,  he  might  have  had  it  (91).  If  any 
convert  "trusts  to  himself"  that  he  is  Christ's, 
let  him  remember  that  Paul  too  is  Christ's  (92) . 

But  all  trust  in  outward  things  is  a  foolish 


196  The  Law  of  Faith 

"confidence  of  boasting"  (93).  In  troubles  and 
in  danger  of  death  Paul  had  learned  that  he 
should  not  "trust  in"  himself  but  in  God,  who 
raises  the  dead  (94). 

Trustfulness  itself  is  a  childlike  trait,  but  the 
experience  of  life  tests  the  value  of  our  trust,  and 
we  learn  that  its  value  depends  largely  on  the 
object  of  the  trust.  In  adult  life  undue  trustful- 
ness is  no  longer  a  childlike  grace,  but  it  is  now  a 
childish  weakness. 

In  many  passages,  the  faith- word  itself  is  used 
without  an  express  object — most  frequently  in  the 
use  of  the  words  Faith  and  Faithful.  This  is  so 
in  the  great  faith-chapter  in  Hebrews.  It  occurs 
more  frequently  in  the  New  Testament  than  in  the 
Old  Testament.  In  most  of  these  passages  the 
object  of  the  faith  is  plainly  indicated  in  the  con- 
text, where  it  is  not  expressed  in  the  phrase 
itself. 

Of  abstract  trustfulness,  as  a  trait  of  character, 
nothing  is  said  in  the  Scriptures.  No  results  are 
promised  to  it.  The  faith  of  the  Bible  is  not  a 
trait  that  we  call  credulity,  but  an  attitude  that 
we  call  belief  or  trust — our  attitude  toward  God 
and  toward  men  and  toward  the  things  among 
which  we  live.  Credulity  may  make  faith  easier. 
But  it  may  make  childish  mistakes  in  faith.  It 
may  be  mistaken  for  faith.  And  this  is  more 
likely  to  be  so,  when  our  faith  itself  is  mistaken 


Assurance  and  Confidence        197 

by  us  for  the  power  of  Him  who  works  in  us  by 
means  of  it. 

Confidence  is  not  generally  spoken  of  in  the 
passages  here  cited  as  a  trait  of  character.  The 
man's  confidence  is  his  state  of  mind  under  special 
circumstances — resulting  in  general  from  his  faith 
in  another.  It  may  be  self-confidence  and  a  faith 
in  himself.  It  may  be  confidence  in  unworthy 
things.  In  proportion  as  the  faith  is  well  placed, 
the  expected  outcome  is  fixed,  established,  and 
sure;  and  the  confidence  of  him  who  rests  on  it  is 
safe. 

And  there  is  another  natural  and  appropriate 
use  at  times  for  all  the  faith- words.  They  are  what 
faith  expects  and  finds.  These  are  our  faith, 
our  confidence,  our  expectation — as  what  we  hope 
for  is  our  hope — and  what  we  love,  our  love. 

NOTES 

I.  I  Sam.  3:20 — 2.  I  Sam.  2:35 — 3.  i  Chron.  17:14 — 
4.  i  Sam.  25:28 — 5.  Is.  22:23,  25 — 6.  2  Chron.  1:9 — 7.  i 
Kings  8  :  26;  2  Chron.  6: 17— 8.  2  Sam.  7:16 — 9.  i  Kings  5:  5 
— 10.  i  Chron.  17:23,  24 — n.  Dan.  2:45 — 12.  Hos.  5:9 — 
13.  Ps.  111:7—14.  Ps.  19:7;  93:5—i5-  Is.  55:3;  Acts 
J3:34— 16.  Ps.  89:28 — 17.  Prov.  10:9 — 18.  Is.  32:18 — 
19.  i  Kings  11:38 — 20.  Is.  33:16 — 21.  Acts  17:31 — 22. 
2  Tim.  3:14 — 23.  Deut.  28:59 — 24.  i  Chron.  9:22,  26,  31; 
2  Chron.  31:15,  18 — 25.  Neh.  9:38 — 26.  Gen.  42:29 — 27. 
Ex.  34:  25—28.  Is.  33 :  6—29.  Ps.  78 :  53—30.  Deut.  33 :  12— 
31.  Ps.  4:8— 32.  Deut.  33:28— 33.  2  Kings  4 125— 34.  Jer. 


198  The  Law  of  Faith 

32:37—35-  Jer-  32:41—36.  Zech.  14:11—37.  Ezek.  28: 
26;  34:25,  27,  28;  38:8,  ii,  14;  39:26—38.  Lev.  25:18,  19; 
26:  5;  Deut.  12:  10;  i  Sam.  12:  11—39.  Jer.  23:6;  33: 16—40. 
Prov.  3:23 — 41.  Jobn:i8 — 42.  13.14:30 — 43.  Job  24:  22 
—44.  Prov.  14:16 — 45.  Job  11:20 — 46.  Job  12:5—47. 
Prov.  3:29 — 48.  Gen.  34:25—49.  Judg.  8:11—50.  Judg. 
18:7,  10,  27 — 51.  Jer.  48:11—52.  Ezek.  37:11—53.  Mic. 
2:8—54.  Is.  32:17—55.  Prov.  28:1—56.  Prov.  14:26— 
57.  Deut.  28:65,  66 — 58.  Prov.  14:32—59.  Ezek.  28:26 — 
60.  Acts  28:31 — 61.  i  John  3:19 — 62.  Eph.  3:12 — 63. 
Philip.  1:6 — 64.  2  Cor.  5:6,  8—65.  2  Cor.  2:  3;  Gal.  5:10— 
66.  Philem.  21 — 67.  2  Cor.  1:15;  Philem.  21 — 68.  2  Cor. 
9-4 — 69.  2  Cor.  i:  13 — 70.  2  Cor.  5:  n — 71.  2  Cor.  13:6 — 
72.  2  Cor.  10:2—73.  Philip.  1:25—74.  Philip.  1:4—75. 
Ps.  62:10—76.  Ezek.  16:15—77.  Ezek.  33: 13— 78.  Is. 
47:10 — 79.  Hos.  10:13 — 80.  Job  6:  n,  13 — 81.  Job  7:6. 
—82.  Is.  47:8—83.  Is.  32:9,  10,  11—84.  Ezek.  39:67— 
85.  Jer.  49:31—86.  Zeph.  2:15—87.  Prov.  28:26 — 88. 
Prov.  28:25 — 89.  Luke  18:9 — 90.  Rom.  2:19 — 91.  Philip. 
3:  3,  4 — 92.  2  Cor.  10 :  7 — 93.  2  Cor.  II :  17— >94-  2  Cor.  i :  9. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

HOPE  AND  EXPECTATION 

Future  Events.  Trust  and  Believe  are  some- 
times used  in  the  Scriptures  in  relation  to 
events  that  have  not  happened  or  are  yet  to 
happen  in  the  world,  and  that  are  more  commonly 
expressed  by  the  word  Hope.  Thus,  the  lender 
"hopes  to  receive'*  and  is  told  to  lend  "hoping 
for  nothing  again"  (i).  Herod  "hoped"  to  see 
miracles  done  by  Christ  (2).  Felix  "hoped" 
money  would  be  given  him  by  Paul  for  his 
release  (3). 

Abraham  "believed  in  hope  against  hope"  that 
he  should  become  the  father  of  a  great  people  (4). 
Naomi  might  vainly  say  that  she  "had  hopes" 
of  other  sons  in  her  old  age  (5).  Paul  "hoped" 
that  the  Corinthians  would  give  freely,  but  they 
had  done  more,  for  they  had  first  given  themselves 
(6).  And  he  "had  hope"  that  they  would  help 
send  him  on  his  gospel- way  (7).  And  he  "had 
confidence"  that  his  own  life  would  be  prolonged 
for  his  needed  service  to  the  church  (8). 

N.  B. — The  notes  of  passages  referred  to  by  number  are  found 
at  the  end  of  the  chapter. 

199 


200  The  Law  of  Faith 

The  enemies  of  the  Jews  "  hoped*'  to  have  power 
over  them  (9).  And  false  prophets  made  men 
"hope**  that  their  word  would  be  proved  true 
(10).  Judah  had  hoped  great  things  for  her  sons, 
her  lion's  whelps,  and  saw  that  she  had  waited 
and  "her  hope"  was  lost  (n). 

At  Philippi  the  masters  of  the  fortune-telling 
damsel  that  was  healed  saw  that  the  "hope  of 
their  gains"  was  gone  (12).  And  in  a  storm 
near  Crete  "all  hope  that  they  should  be  saved" 
was  taken  away  from  the  ship  that  carried 
Paul  toward  Rome  (13).  But  Paul  "believed 
God  that  it  should  be"  as  it  had  been  told 
him  —  a  loss  of  the  ship  without  loss  of  life 


Paul  wrote  to  the  Romans  that  he  "trusted" 
to  see  them  in  his  journey  into  Spain  (15).  So  he 
wrote  to  the  Philippians  that  he  "trusted  in  the 
Lord"  that  he  would  shortly  come  to  them  (16); 
and  that  he  "trusted  to  send"  (17)  or  "hoped  to 
send"  (18)  Timothy  to  them.  So  he  wrote  to 
Timothy  that  he  "hoped  to  come"  to  him  shortly 
(19);  and  to  the  Corinthians,  that  he  "trusted  to 
tarry"  awhile  with  them  (20);  and  to  Philemon, 
that  he  "trusted"  that  he  would  come  to  him 
(21).  And  John  wrote  to  the  elect  lady  that  he 
"trusted  to  come  unto  her"  and  to  see  her  face 
to  face  (22);  and  to  Gaius,  that  he  "trusted"  he 
should  see  him  and  that  they  should  speak  face 
to  face  (23). 


Hope  and  Expectation  201 

Hope  from  God.  Job  cried  that  God  had  re- 
moved his  ' '  hope ' '  like  a  tree  (24) .  Where  was  his 
"hope"?  Who  could  see  it?  (25).  But  God's 
thoughts  were  thoughts  of  peace  to  give  His 
children  "an  expected  end"  (26).  Their  "hope" 
was  in  the  future — in  the  inheritance  of  their 
children  (27).  And  the  time  for  punishment  is 
the  time  of  childhood,  "while  there  is  hope"  (28). 

But  a  man  would  faint,  unless  he  "believed  to 
see"  the  goodness  of  the  Lord  in  the  land  of  the 
living  (29).  David's  soul  waits  on  God,  for  his 
"expectation"  is  from  Him  (30).  The  "hope" 
of  the  righteous  shall  be  gladness  (31).  Their 
"expectation "  shall  not  be  cut  off  (32).  The  Jews 
in  their  captivity  were  "prisoners  of  hope";  for 
God  was  their  stronghold  (33). 

Christians  are  through  the  comfort  of  the  Scrip- 
tures to  "have  hope"  (34).  They  are  to  "rejoice 
in  hope"  (35) — "abound  in  hope"  (36) — "hope 
all  things"  (37). 

"Hope"  deferred  makes  the  heart  sick  (38). 
But  there  is  a  "patience  of  hope"  (39) — growing 
out  of  experience  and  leading  to  "hope"  (40). 
God  made  men  subject  to  material  laws  "in  hope" 
(41).  When  we  recall  God's  doings,  we  "have 
hope"  (42).  We  "hope"  and  quietly  wait  (43), 
in  prostrate  silence  (44).  We  have  "confidence" 
that  we  shall  not  be  ashamed  (45),  for  "hope"  does 
not  lead  to  shame  (46).  "Hope"  is  one  of  the 
things  that  abide  (47).  It  is  a  living  thing  (48), 


202  The  Law  of  Faith 

We  may  lay  hold  on  "hope'*  as  an  anchor  of  the 
soul  (49).  We  may  have  unto  the  end  "  the  rejoic- 
ing of  hope"  (50),  and  "the  assurance  of  hope" 
(51);  and  be  secure  "because  there  is  hope"  (52). 
For  God  in  His  mercy  gives  us  "hope"  (53). 
Faith  is  the  substance  of  what  is  "hoped  for" 
(54).  We  "hope  for"  what  we  do  not  see  (55). 
The  gospel  brings  in  "a  better  hope"  than  the  law 
(56).  It  was  a  "hope"  of  the  promised  future  for 
Israel  (57).  It  was  the  Jews'  accusation  against 
Paul  (58). 

All  Christian  workers  share  in  the  "hope"  of 
each,  as  ploughman  and  harvester  in  hope  of  the 
common  harvest  (59).  So,  Paul's  converts  in 
Thessalonica  were  his  "hope  and  crown  of 
rejoicing"  (60). 

Hope  for  the  Living.  To  the  Jews  it  was  said 
that  those  that  go  down  to  the  pit  cannot  "hope 
for"  God's  truth  (61);  while  there  is  "hope"  to 
him  that  is  joined  to  all  the  living  (62).  There  is 
"hope  of  a  tree,"  if  it  is  cut  down  (63);  but  man 
is  dust,  and  he  perishes  and  God  destroys  his 
"hope"  (64). 

When  a  wicked  man  dies,  "his  expectation  "  shall 
perish  (65).  What  is  the  "hope  of  the  hypocrite, " 
when  God  takes  away  his  soul?  (66).  The  wicked 
"believes  not  that  he  shall  return"  out  of  darkness 
(67).  Israel  was  like  a  valley  of  dry  bones,  their 
"hope"  was  lost  (68).  But  the  psalmist,  resting 


Hope  and  Expectation  203 

on  God's  promises,  declared  that  his  flesh  should 
"rest  in  hope"  (69).  The  righteous  "has  hope" 
in  his  death  (70). 

Hope  for  the  Poor.  By  God's  mercy  the  poor 
"have  hope"  (71).  They  shall  not  be  forgotten 
and  their  "expectation"  shall  not  perish  forever 
(72). 

Hope  for  the  Wicked.  The  "expectation"  of 
the  wicked  is  wrath  (73).  Their  "expectation" 
shall  perish  (74).  The  "hope"  of  the  unjust 
man  perishes  (75).  The  hypocrite's  "hope" 
shall  perish  (76).  The  "hope"  of  the  wicked  shall 
be  as  the  giving  up  of  the  ghost  (77).  There  is 
"more  hope"  of  a  fool  than  of  a  man  wise  in 
his  own  conceit  (78). 

Before  they  "believed,"  the  Ephesians  were 
strangers  to  the  covenant,  "having  no  hope," 
and  without  God  in  the  world  (79). 

Religious  Hopes.  Paul  was  "confident"  that 
the  good  work  begun  in  the  Philippians  would  be 
completed  (80).  His  "hope"  of  the  Corinthians 
was  that  they  would  be  partakers  of  the  consola- 
tions as  well  as  the  sufferings  of  Christ  (81). 
He  was  himself  a  prisoner  "for  the  hope  of  Israel" 
(82) — on  trial  for  the  "hope"  of  God's  promise  of 
a  Messiah  (83).  He  waited  for  the  "hope"  of  a 
new  righteousness  by  faith  (84).  He  "hoped  for" 


204  The  Law  of  Faith 

the  grace  that  was  to  be  made  perfect  at  the  revela- 
tion of  Christ  (85) — and  for  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead  (86) — and  rejoiced  in  the  "hope  of  the  glory  " 
of  God  (87). 

Christ  was  "the  hope  of  glory"  in  them  (88). 
That  "hope"  enabled  them  to  speak  plainly  to 
each  other  about  duty  (89).  They  lived  in  the 
"hope  of  eternal  life"  (90) — and  were  heirs  accord- 
ing to  that  "hope"  (91).  They  "believed"  that 
they  should  live  with  Christ  (92).  They  recog- 
nised the  "hope"  of  their  calling  (93) — "one 
hope"  common  to  all  (94).  Christ  was  their 
"hope"  (95).  They  looked  for  the  "blessed 
hope"  of  His  appearing  (96).  The  "hope  of 
salvation"  was  their  helmet  (97) — "the  hope  of  the 
gospel"  (98)— "a  hope  laid  up  in  heaven"  (99) — 
a  "hope"  for  which  they  could  give  a  reason  (100) 
—a  "hope"  that  could  make  them  patient  (101) 
and  holy  (102). 

Where  "hope"  is  used  in  the  Scriptures  in 
translation  of  an  original  Hebrew  or  Greek  word 
which  has  been  usually  or  frequently  translated  by 
one  of  the  more  common  faith- words,  the  passages 
have  been  included  in  this  work. 

Some  cases  where  hope  is  substantially  a  trust  in 
God  have  been  considered  in  Chapter  V.  Others 
will  be  found  among  the  passages  here  cited. 

Hope  is  found  more  generally  without  a  personal 
object.  It  may  be  fixed  only  on  the  thing  hoped 


Hope  and  Expectation  205 

for.  But  faith,  even  when  it  looks  forward  like 
hope,  rests  on  Him  who  is  the  author  of  the  hope. 

Desire  seems  to  grow  into  hope — and  hope  into 
confidence  of  faith — and  faith  becomes  expecta- 
tion. In  faith  we  refer  all  that  is  future  to  Him, 
with  whom  future  and  present  are  alike — and 
from  Him  we  receive  a  confidence  concerning  the 
future,  which  may  become  the  fixed  expectation 
of  a  faith  that  rests  on  a  sure  promise. 

Hope  is  a  reward  of  faith  and  in  its  turn 
strengthens  faith  and  leads  to  courage  and  joy. 

As  faith  and  belief  sometimes  stand  for  what  is 
believed,  so  hope  sometimes  stands  for  the  things 
hoped  for. 

The  early  Christian  faith  and  hope  were  an 
aspiration  toward  heavenly  things — a  yearning  for 
the  kingdom  of  God's  glory  on  earth — for  the 
Lord's  return — for  resurrection — and  eternal  life. 

NOTES 

i .  Luke  6 :  34, 35 — 2.  Luke  23 :  6 — 3.  Acts  24 :  26 — 4.  Rom. 
4:  18 — 5.  Ruth  i :  12 — 6.  2  Cor.  8:5 — 7.  2  Cor.  10: 15 — 8.  Philip. 
I:25 — 9'  Esth.  9:  i — 10.  Ezek.  13:6 — n.  Ezek.  19:5 — 12. 
Acts  16:19 — 13.  Acts  27:20 — 14.  Acts  27:25—15.  Rom. 
15:24 — 16.  Philip.  2:24— 17.  Philip.  2: 19— 1 8.  Philip.  2: 
23 — 19.  I  Tim.  3:  14 — 20.  i  Cor.  16:7 — 21.  Phil.  22 — 
22.  2  John  12 — 23.  3  John  14 — 24.  Job  19:  10 — 25.  Job 
17:  15 — 26.  Jer.  29:11 — 27.  Jer.  31:17 — 28.  Prov.  19:18 
— 29.  Ps.  27:  13 — 30.  Ps.  62:  5 — 31.  Prov.  10:  28 — 32- 
Prov.  23:  18;  24:  14 — 33.  Zech.  9:  12 — 34.  Rom.  15:4 — 35 


206  The  Law  of  Faith 

Rom.  12:  12— 36.  Rom.  15:  13— 37.  I  Cor.  13:  7— 38.  Prov. 
13:12 — 39.  i  Thess.  1:3 — 40.  Rom.  5:4 — 41.  Rom.  8:20 — 
42.  Lam.  3:  21— 43.  Lam.  3 126— 44.  Lam.  3:29— 45.  Philip. 
1:20 — 46.  Rom.  5:5—47.  i  Cor.  13:13—48.  i  Pet.  1:3— 
49.  Heb.  6:18—50.  Heb.  3:6—51.  Heb.  6:11—52.  Job 
11:18—53.  2  Thess.  2: 16—54.  Heb.  11:1—55.  Rom.  8:24, 
25—56.  Heb.  7:i9—57-  Acts  26:7—58.  Ib.— 59.  i  Cor. 
9:10 — 60.  i  Thess.  2:19 — 61.  Is.  38:18 — 62.  Eccl.  9:4— 
63.  Job  14:7 — 64.  Job  14:  19 — 65.  Prov.  11:  7 — 66.  Job 
27:8 — 67.  Job  15:22 — 68.  Ezek.  37:11—69.  Ps.  16:9; 
Acts  2:26 — 70.  Prov.  14:32—71.  Job  5:  16—72.  Ps.  9:18 
— 73.  Prov.  11:23— 74.  Prov.  10:28— 75.  Prov.  11:7—76. 
Job  8:  13 — 77.  Job  11:20 — 78.  Prov.  25:12 — 79.  Eph. 
2:12—80.  Philip.  1:6— 81.  2  Cor.  1:7—82.  Acts  28:20— 
83.  Acts  26:6—84.  Gal.  5:5—85.  i  Pet.  1:13—86.  Acts 
23:6;  24:15 — 87.  Rom.  5:2 — 88.  Col.  1:27 — 89.  2  Cor. 
3:  12 — 90.  Tit.  1:2 — 91.  Tit.  3:7 — 92.  Rom.  6:8 — 93.  Eph. 
1:18 — 94.  Eph.  4:4 — 95.  i  Tim.  1:1;  Col.  1:27— -96.  Tit. 
2:13 — 97'  i  Thess.  5:8 — 98.  Col.  1:23 — 99.  Col.  1:5— 
100.  i  Pet.  3: 15 — 101.  i  Thess.  1:3 — 102.  i  John  3:  3. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

TRUTH,   PERSUASION,   AND  BELIEF 

Truth  in  God's  Sight.  The  eyes  of  the  Lord 
are  upon  "the  truth"  (i).  The  king's  sons  shall 
find  favour  in  God's  sight,  if  he  does  not  let 
mercy  and  "truth"  forsake  him  (2).  Mercy 
and  "truth"  shall  be  known  of  them  that  seek 
what  is  good  (3).  The  Lord  will  pardon  Jeru- 
salem, if  a  man  can  be  found  in  it  that  executes 
judgment  and  seeks  the  "truth"  (4). 

The  word  of  the  Lord  declared  that  "truth"  was 
cut  off  from  the  mouth  of  the  people  (5).  He 
would  leave  them  in  the  wilderness  and  turn  from 
them,  because  they  speak  lies  and  are  not  valiant 
for  the  "truth"  (6).  Lying  lips  are  an  abomina- 
tion to  the  Lord,  but  they  that  "deal  truly"  are 
His  delight  (7). 

Truth  in  Word  and  in  Fact.  "  Excellent "  speech 
does  not  become  a  fool,  nor  lying  lips  a  prince  (8). 
The  righteous  man  speaks  "truth"  (9),  and  studies 
to  "answer"  (10). 

N.  B. — The  notes  of  passages  referred  to  by  number  are  found 
at  the  end  of  the  chapter. 

207 


208  The  Law  of  Faith 

When  Jerusalem  fell  before  the  Babylonians, 
the  Lord  promised  to  bring  it  health  and  cure  and 
to  reveal  to  it  the  abundance  of  peace  and  "  truth  " 

en). 

When  the  word  of  the  prophet  comes  to  pass, 
then  it  is  known  that  the  Lord  has  "truly"  sent 
him  (12).  And  wisdom  delivers  God's  people 
from  the  way  of  the  wicked  who  speak  "froward" 
things  (13). 

These  are  "faithful  sayings":  that  Christ  Jesus 
came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners  (14) — that 
if  we  be  dead  with  Him,  we  shall  also  live  with 
Him  (15) — that  godliness  is  profitable,  having 
promise  of  the  life  that  now  is  and  of  that  which 
is  to  come  (16) — that  they  who  have  believed  in 
God  should  be  careful  to  maintain  good  works 
(17) — that  to  desire  the  office  of  a  bishop  is  to 
desire  a  good  work  (18). 

These  words  are  "true  and  faithful":  that  God 
will  make  all  things  new  (19) — and  that  Christ  and 
His  redeemed  shall  dwell  in  the  New  Jerusalem 

(20). 

The  Gospel  Truth.  A  bishop  must  hold  fast 
the  "faithful  word,"  that  he  may  be  able  both  to 
exhort  and  to  convince  (21).  The  Lord  remem- 
bered in  praise  of  the  church  in  Pergamos,  that  it 
had  not  denied  His  "faith"  (22). 

Paul  was  unknown  by  face  unto  the  churches 
of  Judea,  but  they  had  heard  that  he  which  per- 


Truth,  Persuasion,  and  Belief     209 

secuted  them  in  times  past  now  preached  "the 
faith  "  which  once  he  destroyed  (23).  His  apostle- 
ship  was  for  "obedience  to  the  faith"  among  all 
nations  (24).  Elymas  tried  to  turn  Sergius  Paulus 
away  from  "the  faith"  (25).  The  "obedience  of 
faith"  (26)  and  "the  hearing  of  faith"  (27)  are 
the  object  of  the  gospel  and  the  way  of  receiving 
the  Spirit. 

And  building  themselves  on  their  "most  holy 
faith"  Christians  were  to  keep  themselves  in  the 
love  of  God  (28) .  They  were  to  hold  ' '  the  mystery 
of  the  faith"  in  simplicity  (29).  With  one  mind 
they  were  to  strive  together  "for  the  faith  of  the 
Gospel"  (30);  and  earnestly  contend  "for  the 
faith"  which  was  once  delivered  unto  the  saints 
(31).  Even  a  great  company  of  priests  were 
"obedient  to  the  faith"  (32). 

Some  are  warned  to  be  "sound  in  the  faith "  and 
not  give  heed  to  Jewish  fables  (33).  Others  de- 
part "from  the  faith,"  listening  to  false  teachings 
(34)  and  have  erred  concerning  the  truth  and 
overthrow  "the  faith  "  of  some  (35) — or  losing  their 
faith  in  Christ  have  made  shipwreck  concerning 
"faith"  (36). 

Persuasion.  In  the  sense  of  persuading  or  being 
not  persuaded  the  faith- words  are  sometimes  used. 
In  these  cases  the  natural  connection  of  the  state 
of  mind  is  apparent,  although  the  verbal  connec- 
tion is  lost  in  the  use  of  different  words  in  the 


210  The  Law  of  Faith 

English  translation.  The  verb  takes  a  more 
active  meaning — trusting  becomes  a  causing  to 
trust,  believing  becomes  a  causing  to  believe. 
This  is  persuasion. 

David  "stayed "  his  servants  with  his  words  and 
suffered  them  not  to  rise  against  Saul  (37).  The 
servants  of  Sennacherib  told  the  Jews  not  to  let 
Hezekiah  "  persuade "  them,  for  no  god  of  any 
nation  was  able  to  deliver  his  people  out  of  the 
hands  of  the  Assyrians  (38).  On  the  other  hand, 
when  the  prophets  prophesied  falsely  as  to  deliver- 
ance from  the  Babylonians,  God  warned  the  peo- 
ple not  to  let  their  prophets  "  deceive"  them  (39). 
The  King  of  the  Amorites  had  not  "trusted" 
Israel  in  the  time  of  Moses  to  pass  through  his 
coasts,  but  fought  against  Israel  (40).  Esther 
sent  raiment  to  clothe  Mordecai  and  he  "received 
it  not"  (41).  The  chief  priests  and  elders  "per- 
suaded "  the  multitude  that  they  should  ask  Bar- 
abbas  and  destroy  Jesus  (42).  And  after  Christ's 
resurrection  they  promised  the  Roman  soldiers 
that  if  the  matter  came  to  the  governor's  ears, 
they  would  "persuade  him"  and  secure  them 

(43). 

The  council  "agreed  to"  Gamaliel,  and  when 
they  had  called  the  apostles  and  beaten  them,  they 
commanded  that  they  should  not  speak  in  the 
name  of  Jesus  and  let  them  go  (44).  The  men 
of  Tyre  and  Sidon  "made"  Herod's  chamberlain 
* '  their  friend ' '  and  desired  peace  (45) .  Jews  came 


Truth,  Persuasion,  and  Belief     211 

to  Lystra  from  Antioch  and  Iconium,  who  "  per- 
suaded "  the  people  and  they  stoned  Paul  (46). 

At  Jerusalem,  the  captain-general  was  warned 
of  a  conspiracy  to  kill  Paul  and  urged  not  to 
"yield  unto"  the  petition  that  he  should  be 
brought  again  before  the  council  (47) . 

At  Caesarea  the  Christians  warned  Paul  against 
his  journey  to  Jerusalem  and  when  he  would  not 
"be  persuaded, "  they  ceased  saying,  the  will  of  the 
Lord  be  done  (48).  Paul  spoke  before  Agrippa 
as  to  the  death  of  Christ  and  said  he  was  "per- 
suaded" that  none  of  these  things  were  unknown 
to  the  king  (49).  Paul  declared  himself  to  be 
"persuaded"  by  the  Lord  that  there  was  nothing 
unclean  of  itself  (50).  And  he  was  "persuaded" 
of  the  brethren  that  they  were  full  of  goodness  and 
knowledge  and  able  to  admonish  one  another  (51). 
And  he  was  "persuaded"  that  the  same  faith  was 
in  Timothy,  which  had  been  in  his  mother  and  his 
grandmother  (52).  Paul  was  "persuaded"  that 
God  was  able  to  keep  to  the  end  what  he  had 
committed  to  Him  (53)  and  that  nothing  could 
separate  Christians  from  the  love  of  God  which  is 
in  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord  (54). 

Paul  and  Barnabas  "persuaded"  converts  to 
continue  in  the  grace  of  God  (55).  At  Corinth 
Paul  reasoned  in  the  synagogue  every  Sabbath  and 
"persuaded"  men  (56).  At  Ephesus  he  went  into 
the  synagogue  and  spoke  boldly,  disputing  and 
"persuading"  concerning  the  kingdom  of  God  (57). 


212  The  Law  of  Faith 

And  opponents  complained  that  not  alone  at 
Ephesus,  but  almost  throughout  all  Asia,  Paul 
had  " persuaded"  and  turned  away  much  people 
from  idolatry  (58).  And  Agrippa  had  said  to 
Paul  that  he  would  almost  "persuade"  him  to  be 
a  Christian  (59).  So,  in  his  Roman  lodging  many 
came  to  Paul  and  he  expounded  the  kingdom  of 
God  and  " persuaded"  them  concerning  Jesus  (60). 
It  was  in  contemplation  of  a  final  judgment 
against  sin  that  Paul  "persuaded"  men  (61). 
It  was  indeed  God's  voice  that  "persuaded"  and 
not  Paul's  (62).  Paul's  preaching  was  not  with 
"enticing"  words  of  man's  wisdom  (63).  No 
"persuasion"  to  disobedience  comes  from  Him 
that  calls  us  (64).  But  Christ  Himself  had  said 
that  if  men  would  not  hear  Moses  and  the  prophets, 
they  would  not  be  "persuaded"  though  one  rose 
from  the  dead  (65). 

Belief  in  General.  The  Philistine  Achish  "be- 
lieved" David  that  he  had  made  his  people  Israel 
utterly  to  abhor  him,  when  he  fled  to  Gath  (66). 
The  Queen  of  Sheba  said  to  Solomon  that  she 
"had  not  believed  the  words"  about  his  acts  and 
his  wisdom  until  she  came  and  saw  them  with  her 
own  eyes  (67).  Job  recalled  the  time  when  if  he 
laughed  on  men,  they  "believed  it  not"  (68). 
And  now  in  his  turn  he  would  not  "believe"  that 
God  had  heard,  if  God  answered  his  call  (69). 
And  in  Job's  words  Behemoth  "trusts  that  he  can 


Truth,  Persuasion,  and  Belief     213 

draw  up  Jordan"  into  his  mouth  (70),  and  the 
horse  swallows  the  ground  in  his  rage  and  does  not 
"believe  that  it  is  the  sound  of  the  trumpet"  (71). 
In  like  manner,  with  varied  words,  Paul  ex- 
presses his  beliefs  about  his  converts,  and  his 
and  their  beliefs  about  themselves.  He  was  "per- 
suaded" of  the  Romans  that  they  were  full  of 
goodness  and  knowledge  and  able  to  admonish 
one  another  (72).  He  heard  that  there  were  divi- 
sions among  the  Christians  of  Corinth  and  partly 
"believed  it"  (73).  The  Jews  were  "confident" 
that  they  were  a  guide  to  the  blind,  a  light  to  them 
that  were  in  darkness  (74).  Paul  "believed  "  that 
his  continuance  in  life  was  needful  to  the  churches 
and  having  "this  confidence"  he  knew  he  should 
continue  with  them  (75).  The  writer  to  the 
Hebrews  asked  for  their  prayers  and  "trusted" 
that  he  was  sincere  in  all  things  desiring  to  live 
aright  (76).  And  it  is  written  that  "through  faith 
we  understand"  that  the  worlds  were  framed  by 
the  word  of  God  (77). 

Beliefs — their  Relation  to  Conduct.  Joseph's 
brethren  returned  from  Egypt,  and  reported  that 
Joseph  was  yet  alive  and  was  governor  over  all 
Egypt-  And  Jacob's  heart  fainted,  for  he  "be- 
lieved them  not"  (78).  And  when  the  Lord  sent 
Moses  to  Israel,  Moses  answered  that  they  would 
not  "believe"  him  nor  hearken  to  his  message  (79). 

Miraculous  powers  were  given  to  Moses,  that 


214  The  Law  of  Faith 

the  people  might  "believe  that  the  Lord  God  of 
their  fathers  had  appeared  unto  him"  (80).  If 
they  would  not  "believe"  him  for  one  miracle, 
they  would  "believe  the  voice"  of  another  sign 
(81).  Aaron  spoke  the  words  which  the  Lord  had 
spoken  to  Moses,  and  did  the  signs,  and  the  people 
"believed"  and  worshipped  (82).  In  the  words 
of  Solomon  the  simple  "believe  every  word,"  but 
the  prudent  man  looks  well  to  his  goings  (83). 
But  when  the  captains  told  Gedaliah  of  the  con- 
spiracy against  his  life,  he  "believed  them  not" 
and  took  no  precautions  and  was  slain  (84).  When 
Jesus  said  to  the  nobleman,  "Go  thy  way,  thy 
son  liveth, "  the  man  "believed  the  word"  and 
went  his  way,  and  found  that  it  was  so  (85). 
The  priests  knew  that  all  the  people  were  "per- 
suaded" that  John  the  Baptist  was  a  prophet  (86). 
The  Jews  did  not  "believe"  concerning  the  blind 
man  restored  by  Christ,  that  he  had  been  blind, 
until  they  called  his  parents  and  asked  them  (87). 
And  when  Paul  came  to  Jerusalem  and  tried  to 
join  himself  to  the  disciples,  they  were  afraid  of 
him  and  "believed  not  that  he  was  a  disciple "  (88). 
One  "believes  that  he  may  eat"  everything  and 
another  eats  only  herbs  (89).  Paul  was  "per- 
suaded by  the  Lord  Jesus"  that  there  was  nothing 
unclean  of  itself  (90). 

If  Christ  had  told  men  earthly  things  and  they 
"believed"  not,  how  should  they  "believe"  if 
he  told  them  heavenly  things?  (91).  He  that 


Truth,  Persuasion,  and  Belief     215 

comes  to  God  must  "  believe  that  He  is,  and  that 
He  is  a  rewarder"  of  them  that  seek  him  (92). 
It  is  well  to  believe  that  there  is  one  God,  but  the 
devils  "believe"  that  and  tremble  (93). 

It  is  cause  for  thanks  to  God,  that  by  "belief 
of  the  truth"  and  sanctification  of  the  spirit  He 
brings  men  to  salvation  (94).  Wickedness  makes 
men  deceivable  and  perishing,  for  they  have  not 
the  saving  love  of  truth.  Delusion  leads  men  to 
believe  what  is  false,  so  that  those  remain  under 
condemnation  who  "believe  not  the  truth"  but 
love  wickedness  (95).  Others  that  "believe  and 
know  the  truth"  take  God's  gifts  thankfully  (96). 

Anything  which  is  the  object  of  faith  may  itself 
be  called  the  faith.  Thus  "  the  faith  "  may  be  the 
truth  in  general  or  any  specified  truth  or  system  or 
body  of  truth.  In  this  way  the  gospel  is  sometimes 
spoken  of  as  "the  faith."  A  belief  is  a  thing 
believed.  The  word  ' '  belief ' '  occurs  but  once  in  the 
Scriptures,  but  the  word  "unbelief"  is  more  fre- 
quent. The  word  * '  faith  "  is  used  not  only  for  trus- 
ting or  believing,  but  at  times  for  the  thing 
believed  or  trusted. 

To  believe  is  not  only  to  trust  a  leader  or  a 
promise — but  it  means  often  to  believe  a  thing  said 
or  to  believe  that  it  happened.  This  is  so  in  all 
or  almost  all  of  the  passages  here  cited.  In 
most  of  these  passages  it  is  used  with  a  direct 
object  naming  the  person  or  thing  believed.  In 


216  The  Law  of  Faith 

other  cases,  where  it  is  used  in  this  sense  without 
an  expressed  object,  it  usually  follows  a  statement 
of  the  thing  told  or  preached.  And  sometimes  the 
object  is  more  fully  stated  in  a  subordinate  sen- 
tence connected  with  the  believing  by  the  word 
that — such  as,  believing  that  there  is  one  God, 
or  believing  that  God  is.  Where  the  original 
faith-word  is  an  adjective,  translated  generally  as 
faithful  or  believing,  it  seldom  if  ever  refers  to  the 
so-called  belief  of  the  believer.  Thus  the  passage 
in  I  Tim.  iv.,  3  is  made  to  appear  so  by  the  form 
of  the  relative  phrase  in  English,  but  it  seems 
strictly  to  refer  to  the  faithful  disciples,  who  know 
the  truth. 

Beliefs  are  the  action  of  faith  on  the  mind — 
our  thoughts  and  opinions.  In  other  places  the 
Scriptures  speak  of  faith's  action  on  the  heart — 
our  feelings,  affections,  and  purposes.  In  the  Old 
Testament  there  are,  however,  no  faith-words 
about  belief  of  any  dogma.  In  the  New  Testa- 
ment we  find  belief  of  the  existence  and  goodness 
of  God  as  an  incident  of  a  man's  coming  to  God 
(97) — and  "belief  of  the  truth  "  as  one  of  the  means 
by  which  God  brings  men  to  salvation  (98).  In 
the  New  Testament  certain  beliefs  are  mentioned 
about  the  resurrection  of  Christ  and  other  things 
in  His  nature  or  life.  These  will  be  spoken  of  in 
the  next  chapter. 

Beliefs  tend  to  grow  into  convictions,  and  these 
are  sometimes  strengthened  until  we  call  them 


Truth,  Persuasion,  and  Belief     217 

knowledge.  We  sometimes  fancy  that  in  a  future 
life  it  will  all  be  knowledge. 

It  is  perhaps  nearer  the  truth,  if  we  remember 
that  complete  knowledge  is  hardly  possible  to  a 
finite  being.  Much  of  our  thought  is,  and  must 
always  be,  of  the  nature  of  belief — strong  enough 
for  every  purpose  of  active  and  spiritual  life — a 
faculty  to  live  by.  This  faculty  acts  in  the  life, 
and  the  life  draws  its  elements  from  what  lies 
outside  of  it — and  directly  or  indirectly  from  the 
Father  of  life.  The  sources  of  life,  and  the  means 
of  strength  and  growth,  are  always  His.  They 
will  perhaps  always  be  in  His  hand  alone. 

And  there  may  always  be  things  that  the  most 
glorified  creature  cannot  look  into — with  oppor- 
tunities for  endless  growth,  and  with  extensions 
of  faith  in  all  its  forms.  These  lie  beyond  our 
present  dreams  and  may  constitute  the  joy  of 
an  endless  life. 

Those  who  are  named  in  the  eleventh  chapter  of 
Hebrews  believed  that  God  was  a  living  being  and 
a  mighty  helper — "that  God  is  and  that  He  is  a 
rewarder. "  This  is  shown  in  the  Bible  story,  and 
in  the  words,  of  many  of  them. 

Perhaps  all  men  then  believed  as  much,  but 
many  had  no  faith  to  trust  Him  and  no  faithfulness 
to  obey  Him.  That  any  should  trust  Him  with  no 
belief  about  Him  is  harder  to  think;  and  need  not 
be  thought  of  that  age,  whatever  we  may  think 
of  this. 


2i8  The  Law  of  Faith 

Both  then  and  now  the  best  beliefs  about  Him 
cannot  resemble  complete  knowledge.  They  even 
differ  greatly  among  themselves  without  wholly 
destroying  men's  trust  or  hope  in  Him.  Those 
who  think  they  have  no  such  beliefs  may  be  as 
conscious  as  others  of  some  higher  power  and 
goodness,  in  which  they  believe,  to  which  they 
trust,  and  by  which  they  go  forward  in  active  life. 
They  are  unable — they  may  be  unwilling — to 
name  or  depict  Him  whom  they  "ignorantly 
worship."  And  yet  perhaps  only  a  step  divides 
these  from  those  who  call  Him  by  the  familiar 
name  and  think  of  His  familiar  attributes.  Every 
man's  thankfulness — his  confidence — his  patience 
— his  aspiration — his  life  as  a  man — seems  to  in- 
volve, and  to  blend  with,  some  trust  in  the  Most 
High.  We  may  not  need  to  name  Him.  But  apart 
from  Him  we  neither  aspire  nor  achieve.  This  is 
plainly  written  in  the  Scriptures.  Perhaps  it  is 
plain  in  all  human  history. 

Belief  and  Evidence.  Opinion  and  belief  as 
to  facts  receive  the  testimony  of  the  senses. 
But  they  are  not  altogether  dependent  on  such 
testimony.  They  receive  other  testimony  through 
thought  and  conscience  and  desire — as  effectually, 
and  perhaps  quite  as  frequently,  as  through  facul- 
ties of  sense. 

The  beliefs  that  come  to  us  by  faculties  of  sense 
we  often  call  science  and  knowledge,  until  they 


Truth,  Persuasion,  and  Belief     219 

give  way  to  sounder  and  more  accurate  beliefs, 
that  rest  on  larger  evidence  of  facts.  There  is 
no  way  of  recognising  their  final  stage.  The 
sense-knowledge  of  to-day,  in  the  rapid  accumula- 
tion of  material  evidence,  becomes  the  ignorance 
of  to-morrow. 

In  the  field  of  beliefs  that  come  to  us  through 
the  mental  and  spiritual  faculties  there  has  been 
no  such  rapid  modern  increase  or  change  of  evi- 
dence. The  beliefs  have  more  universality  and 
permanence.  The  evidence  which  supports  them 
has  been  under  consideration  and  discussion  much 
longer  than  the  facts  of  physical  science.  It  is 
not  as  liable  to  change  or  development  by  discovery 
of  new  facts  or  laws  or  by  invention  of  more  per- 
fect tools  and  methods.  How  nearly  these  beliefs 
resemble  the  knowledge  that  shall  be,  we  do  not 
know.  It  is  the  nature  of  faith  to  wait  expectant, 
and  to  call  what  seems  to  be  present  knowledge  its 
belief. 

Belief  and  Desire — Heredity.  The  human  will 
is  not  often  called  on  to  make  a  great  single  and 
final  determination — especially  in  the  most  mo- 
mentous things.  It  moves  like  air  and  water  in 
minute  waves  and  lines  of  least  resistance.  Each 
movement  contributes  to  the  strong  set  current 
of  the  life. 

Each  man's  spirit  finds  in  his  own  body  its 
body  of  resistance,  as  well  as  its  instruments  of 


220  The  Law  of  Faith 

learning  and  of  action.  Self  musters  its  bodily 
aptitudes  and  inclinations  in  force  for  resistance 
as  well  as  for  service. 

If  the  spirit,  moved  by  faith,  is  aspiring,  it  finds 
its  resistance  in  a  thousand  tastes,  occupations, 
and  surroundings.  If  it  is  dependent  and  trustful, 
self-confidence  resists.  If  it  is  persistent  and 
prayerful,  self-approval  is  there — one's  own  good- 
ness which  seems  as  good  as  that  of  others.  If 
it  is  earnest  and  faithful,  self-indulgence  is  ready 
with  its  inertia  or  distractions.  If  it  is  receptive 
and  believing,  self-assertion  resists  with  all  the 
man's  acquired  theories  and  wisdom  and  resolution. 
The  stronger  and  wiser  the  man  is  in  his  own  eyes 
and  other  eyes,  the  greater  the  resistance.  Faith 
is  in  conflict  always  with  all  self -pleasing  and  all 
that  is  pleased  with  self — with  all  in  any  man  that 
seems  sufficient — all  that  makes  further  effort 
needless. 

Belief  and  Environment.  Science  points  to  a 
survival  of  the  fittest.  The  being  that  is  most  in 
harmony  with  his  environment  survives.  In  this 
environment  the  facts  are  fixed.  They  do  not 
change.  But  the  creature  that  is  not  adjusted  to 
them  fails. 

In  like  manner,  man's  spirit  finds  itself  in  a  world 
of  facts.  At  the  best  our  tools  and  processes  and 
opportunities  and  powers  of  ascertainment  are 
very  limited.  Some  have  poor  tools  and  powers. 


Truth,  Persuasion,  and  Belief     221 

Some  lack  preparatory  knowledge  and  training. 
Some  have  been  turned  aside,  and  lack  the  power 
or  opportunity  to  turn  back.  But  to  each  there  is 
something  of  this  world  of  facts  clearly  presented 
for  his  acceptance — a  small  part,  at  the  best.  To 
most  of  us  the  simplest  and  nearest  objects  are 
presented  most  clearly.  In  general  these  concern 
us  most.  And  nearest  of  all  to  every  one  is  an 
essential  something  in  his  heart  and  in  his  mouth — • 
something  that  he  believes — something  that  he 
professes.  It  is  never  a  complete  revelation — nor 
a  perfect  creed — nor  his  entire  duty — but  it  touches 
all  of  these. 

That  is  his  nearest  environment.  He  must  bring 
himself  into  harmony  with  that — that  truth  that 
is  in  his  heart  and  on  his  tongue.  Without  that 
he  is  not  a  true  man.  He  is  not  living  in  good 
faith.  His  bona-fide  acceptance  and  submission  is 
his  faith.  It  is  the  condition  of  his  spirit's  sur- 
vival. It  is  the  spirit's  germ  of  life. 

Belief  and  Duty.  Faith  then  is  life's  necessity. 
Is  it  a  duty  or  an  open  choice?  If  man  is  a  work- 
man with  tools  and  powers,  must  he  use  them, 
or  may  he  throw  them  away?  May  he  elect  not 
to  believe  what  he  sees — not  to  recognise  estab- 
lished and  visible  authority — not  to  follow  tried 
and  acknowledged  leaders — not  to  obey  any  law 
but  his  desire — not  to  aspire  to  anything  better 
than  he  is  himself  ?  May  he  refuse  faithfulness  and 


222  The  Law  of  Faith 

truth  and  obedience  and  intelligence  and  con- 
fidence, and  yet  ask  for  them  in  all  those  who  are 
bound  to  him  in  ties  of  love  and  service?  With 
different  powers  and  opportunities  men  see  things 
differently  and  must  always  do  so.  But  there  are 
things  of  the  spirit,  which  are  as  elementary  and 
plain  to  all  as  the  heat  of  fire,  the  cold  of  ice,  the 
hardness  and  the  crushing  weight  of  iron.  Cannot 
this  be  said  of  much  simple  truth  and  duty? 

NOTES 

i.  Jer.  5*3— 2.  Prov.  3:3—3.  Prov.  14:22—4.  Jer. 
5:1 — 5.  Jer.  7:28 — 6.  Jer.  9:3 — 7.  Prov.  12:22 — 8.  Prov. 
17:7 — 9.  Prov.  12: 17 — 10.  Prov.  15:28 — n.  Jer.  33:6 — 12. 
Jer.  28:9 — 13.  Prov.  2:12 — 14.  I  Tim.  1:15 — 15.  2  Tim. 
2:  11—16.  i  Tim.  4:9 — 17.  Tit.  3:8—18.  i  Tim.  3: 11—19. 
Rev.  21:5— 20.  Rev.  22:6 — 21.  Tit.  1:9— 22.  Rev.  2:  13— 
23.  Gal.  1:23 — 24.  Rom.  1:5 — 25.  Acts  13:8 — 26.  Rom. 
16:  26 — 27.  Gal.  3:  2,  5 — 28.  Jude  20 — 29.  i  Tim.  3:9 — 30. 
Philip.  1:27— 31.  Jude  3— 32.  Acts  6:  7— 33.  Tit.  1:13; 
2:2 — 34.  i  Tim.  4:1 — 35.  2  Tim.  2:18 — 36.  I  Tim.  1:9 — 
37.  i  Sam.  24:7—38.  2  Chron.  32:15—39.  Jer.  29:8—40. 
Judg.  11:20 — 41.  Esth.  4:4 — 42.  Matt.  27:20 — 43.  Matt. 
28:14—44.  Acts  5:40 — 45.  Acts  12:20 — 46.  Acts  14:19— 
47.  Acts  23:21 — 48.  Acts  21:14 — 49.  Acts  26:26 — 50. 
Rom.  14: 14 — 51.  Rom.  15: 14 — 52.  2  Tim.  1:5 — 53.  2  Tim. 
1:12—54.  Rom.  8:38—55.  Acts  13:43—56.  Acts  18:4— 
57.  Acts  19:  8 — 58.  Acts  19: 26 — 59.  Acts  26:  28 — 60.  Acts 
28 :  23 — 61.  2  Cor.  5 :  1 1 — 62.  Gal.  i :  10 — 63.  i  Cor.  2 :  4 — 64. 
Gal.  5:8 — 65.  Luke  16:31—66.  i  Sam.  27:12 — 67.  I 
Kings  10:7;  2  Chron.  9:6 — 68.  Job  29:24 — 69.  Job  9:16 — 


Truth,  Persuasion,  and  Belief     223 

70.  Job  40:23—71.  Job  39:24—72.  Rom.  15:14 — 73. 
i  Cor.  11:16 — 74.  Rom.  2:19 — 75.  Philip.  1:25 — 76.  Heb. 
13:18 — 77.  Heb.  11:3 — 78.  Gen.  45:26 — 79.  Ex.  4:1 — 
80.  Ex.  4:  5 — 81.  Ex.  4:  8 — 82.  Ex.  4: 31 — 83.  Prov.  14: 15 
— 84.  Jer.  40:14 — 85.  John  4:50 — 86.  Luke  20:6 — 87. 
John  9:18 — 88.  Acts  9:23 — 89.  Rom.  14:2 — 90.  Rom. 
14:14 — 91.  John  3: 12 — 92.  Heb.  11:6 — 93.  James  2: 19 — 
94.  2  Thess.  2:  13 — 95.  2  Thess.  2:11,  12 — 96.  i  Tim.  4:  3 — 
97.  Heb.  u:  5 — 98.  2  Thess.  2: 13. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

BELIEF  ABOUT  CHRIST 

Believers.  Christian  converts  were  those 
"who  believed,"  whether  they  were  Jew  or 
Gentile.  To  them  Christ  was  precious.  For 
them,  all  common  things  were  to  be  received  intelli- 
gently and  thankfully.  And  from  the  beginning 
of  their  faith  dated  their  hope  and  expectation. 
After  the  resurrection  of  Christ  the  Scriptures 
speak  of  "many  thousands  of  Jews  which  be- 
lieved" (i)— "Pharisees  which  believed"  (2)— 
"they  of  the  circumcision  which  believed"  (3) — 
Timotheus  the  son  of  a  certain  woman  "which  was 
a  Jewess  and  believed"  (4) — "the  Gentiles  which 
believe"  (5) — "you  [Thessalonians]  that  believe" 
(6) .  Unto  them  that ' '  believed ' '  Christ  is  precious 
(7).  They  that  "believe  and  know  the  truth" 
receive  all  things  with  thanksgiving  (8).  Chris- 
tians must  awake  out  of  sleep,  for  their  salvation 
was  drawing  nearer  than  when  they  first  "believed  " 

(9). 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Jews  who  resisted  the 

N.  B. — The  notes  of  passages  referred  to  by  number  are  found 
at  the  end  of  the  chapter. 

224 


Belief  about  Christ  225 

gospel  and  the  idolatrous  heathen  are  classed 
together  as  "those  who  believed  not. "  And  those 
who  believe  not  are  classed  with  all  evil-doers  in  the 
final  retribution.  The  Jews  that  "believed  not" 
were  the  enemies  of  the  gospel  in  Macedonia  (10) 
and  in  Judea  (n).  And  Paul  gives  directions 
about  intercourse  with  Gentiles  that  "believe  not" 
(12).  The  fearful  and  "unbelieving"  shall  have 
their  part  with  evil-doers  in  the  second  death  (13). 
In  other  passages  Christ  is  named  as  the  object 
of  their  belief.  Perhaps  it  was  the  want  of  such 
belief  that  had  marked  His  brethren  at  an  earlier 
day  as  unbelievers.  The  Jews  that  "believed  on " 
Christ  were  His  disciples,  if  they  continued  in  His 
word  (14).  The  gifts  of  God  were  given  alike  to 
Jews  and  Gentiles  who  "believed  on  the  Lord*' 
(15).  The  elders  in  every  church  were  commended 
to  the  Lord  "on  whom  they  had  believed"  (16). 
Paul  had  been  a  persecutor  of  them  that  "believed 
on"  Christ  (17).  And  in  Christ's  early  ministry 
His  brothers  did  not  "believe  on  Him"  (18). 

Belief  in  General.  Christ  knew  and  spoke  of 
men's  refusal  to  believe  His  words  about  Himself 
and  called  for  their  belief.  He  explained  their 
unbelief  by  causes  that  lay  in  the  hearer — the 
same  that  made  them  disbelieve  what  Moses  wrote. 
He  appealed  to  His  miracles  for  confirmation. 
Jesus  told  His  disciples  in  speaking  of  His  own 
return  to  heaven,  that  there  were  some  of  them 

15 


226  The  Law  of  Faith 

that  "believed  not."  For  Jesus  knew  from  the 
beginning  who  they  were  that  "believed  not"  (19) 
If  they  heard  His  words  and  "believed  not," 
His  words  should  judge  them  at  the  last  (20). 
And  in  calling  himself  the  Son  of  God  He  told  them 
to  believe  His  works,  that  they  might  "believe 
that "  the  Father  was  in  Him  and  He  in  the  Father 
(21).  He  urged  them  to  ' '  believe  that ' '  He  was  in 
the  Father  and  the  Father  in  Him,  if  only  because 
of  His  miracles  (22).  He  had  told  them  that  He 
was  the  Christ  and  they  "believed  not"  because 
they  were  not  of  His  sheep  (23).  If  he  told  them 
plainly  that  he  was  the  Christ,  they  would  not 
"believe"  (24).  If  they  did  not  "believe"  Moses* 
writings,  how  should  they  "believe"  His  words? 

(25). 

The  disciples  on  the  road  to  Emmaus  were  slow 
of  heart  to  "believe"  all  that  the  prophets  had 
spoken  (26).  And  the  servant  of  Queen  Candace, 
desiring  baptism  by  Philip,  said  that  he  "believed " 
that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God  (27).  And 
when  Paul  reasoned  with  them  out  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, alleging  that  Christ  must  needs  have  suffered 
and  risen  from  the  dead,  and  that  this  Jesus  is 
Christ,  some  "believed"  and  consorted  with  the 
apostles  and  others  "believed  not"  and  opposed 
them  (28).  At  Thessalonica  they  received  the 
word  and  searched  the  Scriptures  daily  whether 
the  things  were  so,  and  many  of  them  "believed" 
(29).  Paul  confessed  that  he  worshipped  God 


Belief  about  Christ  227 

"believing"  all  things  that  were  written  in  the 
law  and  the  prophets  (30).  At  Rome  Paul 
preached  out  of  the  law  of  Moses  and  out  of  the 
prophets,  and  some  "believed  the  things'*  which 
were  spoken  and  some  "believed  not"  (31). 
Before  Agrippa,  he  asked  the  king  whether  he 
"believed  the  prophets,"  and  said  he  knew  that  he 
"believed"  (32).  Not  to  "believe  the  record" 
that  God  gave  of  His  Son  is  a  disbelief  of  what  God 
says  (33).  And  the  object  of  John  the  Baptist's 
preaching  was  to  bear  witness  of  the  Light  that 
all  men  might  "believe"  (34). 

Before  His  ascension  the  Lord  commanded  His 
disciples  to  go  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the 
gospel  to  every  creature,  declaring  that  he  that 
"believed"  should  be  saved,  but  he  that  "believed 
not"  should  be  left  under  condemnation,  and  that 
signs  of  power  should  follow  them  that  "believe" 
(35).  And  Luke  undertook,  as  others  had  done, 
to  set  forth  in  order  a  declaration  of  the  things 
which  were  "believed"  among  them  (36).  John 
bore  record  to  the  circumstances  of  Christ's  death 
as  an  eye-witness  of  what  he  knew,  that  others 
might  "believe"  (37).  The  apostles  from  the 
beginning  preached  through  Jesus  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  dead,  and  many  of  them  which  heard 
the  word  "believed"  (38).  Philip  preached  in 
Samaria  and  many  "believed  Philip  preaching 
concerning  the  kingdom"  of  God  and  the  name  of 
Christ,  and  were  baptized  (39).  Paul  and  Barna- 


228  The  Law  of  Faith 

has  went  into  the  synagogue  and  so  spoke  that 
a  great  multitude  "believed"  (40).  In  Ephesus 
Paul  went  into  the  synagogue  and  spoke  boldly 
concerning  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  many  were 
hardened  and  "believed  not"  (41).  Paul  wrote 
to  the  Corinthians  that  they  would  be  saved  by 
the  gospel  which  he  preached,  unless  they  had 
"believed"  in  vain  (42).  He  reminded  the  Thes- 
salonians  that  what  he  had  said  had  been  "be- 
lieved" among  them  (43).  When  Elymas  the 
sorcerer  was  struck  blind,  the  governor,  when  he 
saw  what  was  done,  "believed,"  being  astonished 
at  the  Lord's  doctrine  (44).  At  Antioch  Paul 
recalled  the  word  of  prophecy  that  God  would  work 
a  work  which  they  would  not  "believe"  though  it 
were  plainly  told  them  (45).  But  Christ  told  His 
disciples  not  to  "believe "  it  when  in  the  latter  days 
men  should  try  to  point  out  the  returning  Christ 
(46). 

Particular  Beliefs.  Christ  knew  that  God  heard 
Him  always,  but  He  gave  public  thanks  for  God's 
answer  at  the  grave  of  Lazarus,  that  men  might 
"believe  that"  God  had  sent  Him  (47).  TheFather 
loved  the  disciples,  because  they  loved  Christ  and 
"believed  that"  He  came  from  God  (48).  Their 
belief  was  a  sign  of  their  love  and  a  reason  for 
God's  love  for  them. 

Christ's  knowing  all  things,  and  needing  not 
that  any  man  should  ask  Him,  was  a  reason  why 


Belief  about  Christ  229 

the  disciples  "believed  that"  He  came  forth  from 
God  (49).  He  gave  to  them  the  words  that  God 
gave  Him  and  they  received  them  and  "believed 
that  God  had  sent  Him ' '  (50) .  He  prayed  that  the 
Father  and  He  and  men  might  all  be  one,  that  the 
world  might ' '  believe  that  God  had  sent  Him  "(51). 
His  disciples  were  to  believe  not  only  in  His  divine 
origin  but  in  His  oneness  with  God.  They  were  to 
"believe  Him  that  He  was  in  the  Father  and  the 
Father  in  Him"  (52). 

His  disciples  believed  that  He  was  the  Christ. 
This  followed  His  words,  when  He  claimed  that 
He  was  the  bread  of  life  and  could  bestow  ever- 
lasting life.  To  make  men  believe  that  He  was 
Christ  was  the  object  of  the  whole  gospel  story. 
That  belief  was  the  mark  of  the  new-born  soul — • 
the  assurance  of  his  salvation  from  sin — and  of  his 
faith  in  God.  Peter  declared  that  they  "believed  " 
and  were  sure  that  Jesus  was  that  Christ  the  Son 
of  the  living  God  (53).  Martha,  in  answer  to 
Christ's  word  that  those  who  believed  in  Him 
should  never  die,  declared  that  she  "believed" 
that  He  was  the  Christ  the  Son  of  God,  which 
should  come  into  the  world  (54).  The  Pharisees 
were  told  by  Christ  that  if  they  "believed  not" 
that  He  was  what  He  claimed,  they  should  die  in 
their  sins  (55).  And  Christ  told  His  disciples 
beforehand  about  His  betrayal,  and  the  words  of 
prophecy  foretelling  it,  that  when  it  came  to  pass, 
they  might  "believe"  that  He  was  what  He 


230  The  Law  of  Faith 

claimed  (56).  John  writes  that  whoever  "be- 
lieves" that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  is  born  of  God  (57). 
The  gospel  of  John  was  written  that  men  might 
" believe"  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God, 
and  "believing"  might  have  life  through  His 
name  (58). 

His  disciples  "believed"  that  Jesus  Christ  was 
the  Son  of  God  and  in  this  belief  lay  their  victory 
(59) .  Who  is  he  that  overcometh  the  world  but  he 
that  believeth  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God"?  (60). 

Disciples  and  converts  believed  that  He  was  the 
Saviour,  although  their  first  confidence  had  been 
broken  up  by  His  death.  When  the  Gentiles 
heard  the  word  of  prophecy  that  Christ  should  be 
set  to  be  a  light  to  the  Gentiles  and  for  salvation 
to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  they  were  glad  and  glori- 
fied the  word,  and  those  that  were  enlisted  for 
eternal  life  "believed"  (61).  Christ's  apostles 
"believed"  that  they  and  their  fathers  should  be 
saved  through  the  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
(62).  After  His  resurrection  Christ  showed  Him- 
self to  disciples  who  had  before  His  death ' '  trusted 
that  He  would  be  the  redeemer  of  Israel  (63). 
Blind  men  cried  out  to  Him  for  mercy  and  were 
healed  "according  to  their  faith,"  when  Jesus 
asked  if  they  "believed"  that  He  was  able  to  do 
it  and  they  answered  "Yes"  (64).  Martha 
"believed"  that  He  was  the  Christ  the  Son  of  God 
who  should  come,  and  He  delivered  her  brother 
Lazarus  from  the  grave  (65). 


Belief  about  Christ  231 

Christ  had  foretold  His  own  resurrection  from 
the  dead.  The  resurrection  was  incredible,  but 
it  was  plainly  and  persistently  preached.  And 
that  belief,  inwardly  accepted  and  openly  avowed, 
became  the  means  of  salvation  and  the  assurance 
of  man's  own  resurrection.  When  Christ  was 
risen  from  the  dead  His  disciples  remembered  that 
He  had  said  He  would  raise  up  the  temple  of  His 
body,  and  they  "believed  the  Scriptures"  and 
the  word  which  Jesus  had  spoken  (66).  When 
the  disciples  heard  that  He  was  alive  and  had  been 
seen  of  Mary,  many  of  them  "believed  not"  (67). 
John  went  into  the  sepulchre  and  he  "saw  and 
believed  "  (68) .  Two  of  the  disciples,  to  whom  He 
appeared  on  the  road  to  Emmaus,  went  and  told 
it  to  others,  but  they  did  "not  believe  them"  (69). 
He  appeared  unto  the  eleven  and  upbraided  them 
with  "their  unbelief"  and  hardness  of  heart, 
because  they  did  not  "believe  them"  that  had  seen 
Him  after  He  had  risen  (70).  And  Thomas,  who 
was  not  with  them,  doubted  their  report,  and 
would  not  "believe"  without  sight  and  touch; 
and  when  this  was  afterward  permitted  to  him,  the 
Lord  told  him  to  be  " not  faithless  but  believing." 
He  "believed  "  because  he  had  seen,  but  those  were 
more  blessed  who  had  not  seen  and  yet  had 
"believed"  (71).  When  the  disciples  "believed 
not  for  joy, "  Christ  took  meat  and  ate  before  them 
and  opened  their  understanding  that  they  might 
understand  the  Scriptures  (72). 


232  The  Law  of  Faith 

At  Athens,  when  men  heard  of  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead,  some  mocked,  but  others  clave  unto  Paul 
and  "believed"  (73).  Paul  asked  Agrippa  why  it 
should  be  thought  a  thing  "incredible,"  that  God 
should  raise  the  dead  (74) .  And  Paul  delivered  to 
the  Corinthians  the  gospel  that  Christ  had  died  and 
was  buried  and  rose  again  according  to  the  Scrip- 
tures. So  he  preached  and  so  they  "believed  "  (75) . 
If  Christ  did  not  rise,  "their  faith"  was  vain  (76). 

The  "word  of  faith,"  which  was  preached, 
proclaimed  salvation  to  those,  who  in  their  heart 
"believed"  that  God  had  raised  Him  from  the 
dead  and  with  their  lips  acknowledged  Him  as 
Lord  (77) .  If  we  "  believe  that  Jesus  died  and  rose 
again, "  so  those  that  sleep  in  Jesus  will  God  raise 
and  bring  back  with  Him  (78). 

The  first  passages  cited  speak  of  believers  or  of  the 
unbelieving  and  there  is  no  object  of  belief  express- 
ed. That  a  belief  about  Christ  may  have  been 
intended,  rather  than  faith  or  trust  in  Him  or  faith- 
fulness toward  Him,  may  be  inferred  in  a  few  of 
them  from  the  reference  in  the  immediate  con  text  to 
the  preaching  or  to  some  word  that  had  been  spoken. 

Many  of  these  seem,  however,  to  refer  rather  to 
a  trust  in  Christ.  So  far  as  this  followed  the 
preaching,  it,  no  doubt,  generally  carried  with  it 
a  belief  of  what  had  been  proclaimed  as  true  about 
Christ  and  more  particularly  about  the  facts  of 
His  resurrection  and  Messiahship. 


Belief  about  Christ  233 

The  unbelieving  may  have  included  many  who 
believed  what  was  said  about  His  miracles  and 
His  resurrection  but  were  not  ready  to  take  the 
crucified  Nazarene  for  their  Lord  and  Master. 
The  passages  that  speak  of  believing  on  Him  may 
all  be  classed  with  the  great  majority  of  passages 
in  the  same  form,  which  are  manifestly  expressions 
of  a  trust  in  Him. 

In  some  of  these  passages  there  is  either  a 
specific  statement  of  the  unbelief  or  an  immediate 
connection  with  some  word  spoken  or  written. 
In  one  passage  (79)  the  meaning  seems  to  change 
•from  a  belief  in  Christ  to  a  belief  of  His  words. 
And  in  two  others  (80),  the  meaning  seems  to 
change  from  belief  of  His  words  to  trust  in  Him. 
In  the  first  His  hearers  did  not  believe  what  He 
said  and  did  not  believe  because  they  were  not  His 
sheep.  In  the  second  they  believed  that  He  was 
Christ  and  believed  in  Him  and  were  saved.  So, 
the  object  of  John  the  Baptist's  preaching  was  that 
men  might  believe  (81).  And  belief  seems  to 
change  to  trust  where  Christ  told  the  priests  and 
scribes  (82)  that  they  would  not  believe,  if  He 
told  them  that  He  was  the  Christ.  Their  trust 
involved  their  will,  but  perhaps  their  belief  did 
not.  Belief  is  not  directly  an  act  of  the  will,  but 
unbelief  may  follow  incidentally  from  wilfulness 
in  hearing  or  not  hearing. 

It  is  evident  that  in  many  of  these  passages  the 
hearer's  belief  was  sought  by  Christ.  He  desired 


234  The  Law  of  Faith 

them  to  believe  what  He  said  about  His  coming  to 
them  in  the  Father's  name — His  oneness  with  the 
Father — His  return  to  Heaven.  In  His  farewell 
words  He  called  them  to  believe  His  gospel  of  the 
kingdom — repentance  and  forgiveness.  And  He 
warned  them  against  the  future  proclamation  of 
false  Christs. 

In  the  passages  cited  in  this  chapter  are  found 
all  the  specific  beliefs  about  Christ  that  were 
spoken  of  in  faith-words  in  the  Bible.  They  are 
spoken  by  Christ  or  His  disciples.  These  beliefs 
are  as  follows :  that  He  was  the  Messiah  sent  from 
God—the  Christ— the  Son  of  God;  that  He  was 
the  Redeemer  and  Saviour  with  power  to  raise  the 
dead ;  and  that  He  was  Himself  raised  up  from  the 
dead.  This  last  fact  was  the  burden  of  the  apostolic 
preaching.  On  it  rested  the  hope  and  promise  of 
man's  resurrection.  The  belief  that  followed  the 
story  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ  turned  into  a 
trust  in  Him  as  Lord.  And  with  that  trust, 
salvation  came  to  them — the  beginning  of  a  new 
life. 

So,  too,  a  faith  that  was  triumphant  over  worldly 
stress  and  sorrows  came  to  them  with  the  convic- 
tion that  Jesus  was  the  Son  of  God.  That  men 
might  believe  this  was  the  purpose  of  John's  gospel. 
Denial  of  this  claim  (which  was  made  by  Him)  was 
for  the  Pharisees,  who  saw  Him  and  heard  His 
words,  a  wilful  rejection  of  Himself.  When  they 
rejected  Him,  they  remained,  as  they  had  been, 


Belief  about  Christ  235 

without  the  deliverance  that  He  offered  them. 
He  offered  a  new  life  in  place  of  their  old  and  per- 
sistent deadness,  their  hopeless  abiding  in  deaden- 
ing sin.  This  offer  was  made  to  men  whose  animus 
and  self-will  had  plainly  shown  itself.  That 
animus  had  made  them  incapable  of  the  change 
and  deliverance  that  was  offered  to  all  men  by 
Christ.  There  is  no  other  passage  in  the  Bible  in 
which  Christ  declares  that  man  shall  fall  into 
hopeless  death  by  reason  of  any  specific  disbelief. 
In  Christ's  farewell  words  in  sending  His  dis- 
ciples out  into  all  the  world  to  preach  the  gospel 
and  baptize  (83)  we  perhaps  assume  much  too 
readily  that  they  were  entrusted  with  what  we 
call  the  Christian  system  of  salvation  with  its  elab- 
orate creed  and  all  its  human  arguments  and 
philosophies  and  beliefs.  When  Christ  began 
to  preach,  Mark  called  it  "the  gospel  of  the  king- 
dom of  God. "  Christ  preached  that  the  kingdom 
was  at  hand,  and  that  men  should  repent  and 
believe  the  gospel  (84).  Paul  called  it  "the  gos- 
pel of  the  grace  of  God"  (85).  This  seems  to 
have  been  a  call  to  repentance  and  a  proclamation 
of  God's  forgiveness.  This  was  the  spirit  of  the 
prophecy  that  promised  that  God  would  have 
mercy  upon  him  that  returned  to  Him  (86)  and  of 
the  Lord's  promise  that  He  would  in  no  wise  cast 
out  him  that  comes  to  Him  (87).  There  were  no 
new  conditions.  The  gospel  was  not  made  nar- 
rower. But  strange  new  facts  now  made  it  more 


236  The  Law  of  Faith 

believable.  With  reasonings  and  explanations, 
men  tried  to  make  the  love  of  the  Father  and 
His  salvation  by  grace  fit  their  ideas  of  the  jus- 
tice of  God  and  His  law.  These  reasonings  were 
helpful  at  the  first,  but  now  they  have  built 
a  Chinese  wall  around  "the  gospel  of  the 
grace." 

There  is  no  Bible  statement  that  man  cannot  be 
saved  without  right  beliefs,  but  there  are  passages 
in  which  new  birth  and  life  and  salvation  are  spoken 
of  as  accompanying  or  following  such  beliefs. 
They  believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ — and  are  born 
of  God  (88) ,  and  attain  unto  life  (89) .  They  believe 
that  God  raised  Christ  from  the  dead-^-and  they 
shall  themselves  be  saved  (90). 

And  in  other  passages  that  may  mean  either 
believing  about  Him  or  believing  in  Him,  the 
believer  is  spoken  of  as  enrolled  for  eternal  life 
(91),  and  saved  (92),  and  the  unbeliever  is  classed 
with  those  who  fall  into  the  second  death 

(93). 

A  man's  beliefs  then  may  lead  to  salvation  and 
to  eternal  life,  and  want  of  them,  or  want  of 
the  faith  that  they  might  bring,  may  lead  to 
death. 

It  does  not  seem  easy  to  overvalue  sound  beliefs 
about  the  truth.  They  are  worth  the  highest  cost 
of  every  effort  to  reach  them.  The  failure  to 
reach  them  may  change  the  character  and  current 
of  a  man's  life.  But  the  Bible  goes  no  farther  than 


Belief  about  Christ  237 

this  and  we  dare  go  no  farther.  It  does  not  pro- 
claim punishment  for  failing  to  believe  the  truth. 
Neither  does  it  hide  the  disasters  that  misbelief 
and  disbelief  may  lead  to. 

It  may  be  natural  to  infer  that  a  return  to  God 
(94)  or  a  coming  to  Christ  (95)  implies  some 
knowledge  of  God  and  of  Christ  and  some  belief 
or  hope.  And  yet  it  is  possible  that  many  may 
turn  toward  God  and  begin  to  come  to  Christ 
in  simple  penitence  or  earnest  faithfulness  or 
burning  desire,  with  little  apprehension  or  know- 
ledge of  the  mighty  and  loving  One,  to  whom 
they  are  beginning  to  commit  themselves.  Little 
children  may  come — and  heathen  Canaanite — and 
modern  sceptic — and  those  that  are  heavy  laden — 
and  penitent  sinners  of  every  creed.  Woe  to  him 
whose  outspoken  inference  about  their  proper  state 
of  mind  becomes  the  hindrance  in  their  way ! 

Men  are  called  on  to  believe,  but  they  are  not 
commanded.  Opportunity  and  responsibility  come 
together  to  each  one  of  us.  If  the  opportunity 
is  fair,  the  responsibility  is  plain.  There  is  a 
good  faith  required  in  meeting  both.  That  is  law 
in  God's  nature  and  in  ours — beyond  all  possibility 
of  mistake.  It  seems  to  be  the  law  of  the  whole 
animate  universe. 

Happily  our  accounting  is  not  to  one  another. 
It  is  to  One  who  knows  all  the  facts  and  can 
measure  the  opportunity  and  the  responsibility 
of  every  man. 


238  The  Law  of  Faith 

NOTES 

i.  Acts  21:20 — 2.  Acts  15:5—3-  Acts  10:45—4.  Acts 
16:1—5.  Acts  21:25 — 6.  i  Thess.  2:10 — 7.  i  Pet.  2:7—8. 
I  Tim.  4:3 — 9.  Rom.  13:11—10.  Acts  17:5—11.  Rom. 
15:31—12.  i  Cor.  10:27— 13.  Rev.  21:8— 14.  John  8:  31 — 
15.  Acts  11:17—16.  Acts  14:23—17.  Acts  22:19—18. 
John  7:5 — 19.  John  6:64 — 20.  John  12:47 — 21.  John  10: 
37.  38—22.  John  14:11—23.  John  10:25,  26—24.  Luke 
22:67 — 25.  John  5:47—26.  Luke  24:25—27.  Acts  8:37 — 
28.  Acts  17:4,  5 — 29.  Acts  17:12 — 30.  Acts  24:14 — 31. 
Acts  28:24 — 32.  Acts  26:27 — 33.  i  John  5:10 — 34.  John 
I:7~ 35-  Mark  16: 16,  17—36.  Luke  1:1—37.  John  19:35 
— 38.  Acts  4:4 — 39.  Acts  8: 12,  13 — 40.  Acts  14:1 — 41. 
Acts  19:9—42.  i  Cor.  15:2—43.  2  Thess.  1:10 — 44.  Acts 
13: 12 — 45.  Acts  13: 41 — 46.  Matt.  24:  23,  26;  Mark  13:  21 — • 
47.  John  11:42 — 48.  John  16:27 — 49.  John  16:30,  31 — 50. 
John  17:  8— 51.  John  17:  21 — 52.  John  14:  10,  11—53.  John 
6:69—54.  John  11:26,  27—55.  J°nn  8:24 — 56.  John  13: 
19;  14:29— 57.  i  John  5:1 — 58.  John  20:31—59.  John 
6:69;  11:27;  Acts  8:37 — 60.  ijohns:5 — 61.  Acts  13:48— 62. 
Acts  5 : 1 1 — 63.  Luke  24 : 2 1 — 64.  Matt.  9 : 28 — 65.  John  1 1 : 
27—66.  John  2: 22 — 67.  Mark  15: 1 1 — 68.  John  20: 8 — 69. 
Mark  16:13 — 7°-  Mark  16:14 — 71.  John  20:25,  27,  29 — 72. 
Luke  24:41 — 73.  Acts  17:34 — 74.  Acts  26: 8 — 75.  i  Cor.  13: 
II — 76.  I  Cor.  15:14,  17 — 77.  Rom.  10:8,  9 — 78.  i  Thess. 
4:14 — 79.  John  5:47—80.  John  10:25,  26;  20:31— 81. 
John  1:7—82.  Luke  22:67—83.  Mark.  16:15,  16—84. 
Mark,  i :  15— 85.  Acts  20:  24— 86.  13.55:7—87.  John  6:  37 
— 88.  I  John  5:1 — 89.  John  20:31 — 90.  Rom.  10:9 — 91. 
Acts  13:48 — 92.  i  Cor.  15:2—93.  Rev.  21:8 — 94.  Is.  55:7 
—95.  John  6:  37. 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE  LAWS   OF  FAITH 

CAITH  is  man's  active  relation  to  the  whole 
1  world  that  lies  outside  of  himself.  In  this 
broad  sense,  it  is  ever  with  us.  It  touches  every 
relation  of  men  to  one  another,  every  function  of 
daily  life,  all  knowledge  and  memory  and  hopes, 
and  every  human  activity.  Every  child  soon 
learns  that  he  must  believe  some  things,  whether 
he  understands  them  or  not — and  that  he  must 
even  try  to  understand  some  things.  He  learns 
what  he  cannot  do.  He  learns  that  he  must 
depend  on  many  others— must  submit  to  some 
authority — must  trust  many — and  must  be 
trusted.  He  must  be  faithful  in  many  things. 
He  must  remember.  He  must  foresee  and  plan 
and  hope.  And  he  must  judge  and  act. 

This  is  true  of  the  whole  physical  and  intellectual 
and  social  world.  It  is  the  law  of  man's  natural 
and  social  life.  Does  it  stop  there,  or  does  it 
apply  to  the  whole  man?  Man  cannot  learn 
how  to  live  without  faithfulness  of  mind  and 
body.  Must  he  have  faithfulness  of  spirit  too? 

As  a  spiritual  being,  man's  faith  is  all  that 
239 


240  The  Law  of  Faith 

relates  him  to  "the  things  of  the  spirit."  This 
law,  that  governs  him  in  body  and  mind  and  busi- 
ness, governs  also  the  moral,  aspiring,  spiritual 
man.  The  nerves  are  an  effective  and  ever- 
present  mentor  to  the  one.  The  conscience  is  not 
a  less  accurate  and  unfailing  mentor  to  the  other. 
And  both  touch  the  will. 

The  laws  by  which  faith  works  in  our  whole 
human  nature —  in  its  lowest  needs  and  activities 
and  in  its  highest — may  not  be  identical — but 
probably  a  resemblance  or  analogy  may  be  found 
in  all  of  them. 

In  the  Bible,  worldly  faith  is  often  spoken  of. 
But  the  Book  of  Faith  speaks  chiefly  of  the  Bible 
faith — the  faith  that  is  toward  God — the  depend- 
ence of  man  on  God — the  gifts  of  God  received  by 
man. 

The  laws  of  faith  are  simple  and  extend  for  the 
most  part  to  every  realm  of  human  life. 

I.  Faith  Rests  on  God  Alone.  The  Bible 
speaks  not  only  of  faith  in  God,  but  of  the  faith 
of  God.  He  is  faithful,  and  His  faithfulness  is  His 
truth,  His  stedfastness,  His  justice,  and  His 
mercy.  He  commands — and  promises — and  gives. 
And  to  man  He  has  entrusted  the  dominion  of  the 
world.  This  is  His  life  toward  man. 

Man's  faith  in  Him  rests  on  His  own  faithfulness. 
And  if  men  are  faithful  toward  one  another,  it  is 
the  Father's  faithfulness  imaged  and  planted  in 


The  Laws  of  Faith  241 

the  children.  And  if  men  believe,  it  is  that  they 
have  seen  His  works  or  heard  His  voice. 

It  does  not  follow  that  a  believer  is  necessarily, 
or  even  generally,  conscious  of  this.  One  who 
has  known  the  best  things  men  have  learned 
about  God  may  know  and  give  a  reason  for  the 
faith  that  is  in  him.  He  believes  about  Him 
what  others  have  taught  and  his  own  reason  ap- 
proves. He  trusts  Him  for  what  he  has  heard  of 
Him  and  for  what  he  has  himself  experienced.  He 
tries  to  obey  and  to  endure,  for  he  acknowledges 
the  mastery  and  wisdom  of  His  rule.  He  tries  to 
be  faithful  in  duty,  for  his  own  responsibility  is 
before  his  eyes.  He  aspires  to  a  nobler  future,  for 
he  has  had  some  vision  of  what  shall  surely  be. 

But  faith  that  begins  in  childhood,  and  lives  in 
any  condition  in  which  man  can  live,  does  not 
reason  about  itself  or  explain  itself.  It  lives  and 
moves.  Where  it  comes  from,  and  what  its 
foundation  is,  are  questions  for  the  few.  The 
answer  of  the  Book  of  Faith  is  that  it  comes  from 
God  and  that  He  can  be  trusted  because  He  is 
faithful.  It  is  the  simple  rule  of  human  life.  We 
learn  from  our  fathers — we  inherit  their  traits — 
we  trust  them,  and  we  trust  one  another,  because 
they  are  trustworthy  toward  us. 

n.  The  Faithful  belong  to  Christ.  "  Whoso- 
ever believeth"  is  in  that  family  of  God — for  he 
is  joined  to  Christ,  and  is  found  in  Him  at  the  end. 

id 


242  The  Law  of  Faith 

By  faith  alone  he  is  identified  with  Christ  and 
shares  the  things  of  Christ.  He  shares  in  all  that 
Christ  is,  and  in  the  Father's  love — and  the  king- 
dom of  the  Son.  It  is  not  his  kinship  with  any 
favoured  race  of  men — nor  his  profitable  use  of  op- 
portunities and  means — nor  his  fine  natural  or 
developed  powers — nor  his  intelligence  or  know- 
ledge. 

What  is  the  sure  mark  of  his  birth  and  his 
nobility?  It  is  that  living  principle  in  him  which 
we  call  spirit.  This  has  turned  and  moved  him  at 
times  toward  the  Father  and  toward  Christ — from 
the  earliest  beginning  of  his  life — in  ways  not 
understood  by  him — and  not  seen  always  by  his 
nearest  neighbour.  The  faint  desire — the  flicker- 
ing hope — the  wavering  confidence — the  fluctu- 
ating fidelity — the  doubting  beliefs — the  timid 
inconstant  aspiration — this  is  the  faith  that  is  in 
him.  And  ever  since  human  life  began  this  is  the 
faith  that  put  man  into  Christ.  His  earthly  life 
may  have  ended  in  infancy — or  begun  and  ended  in 
heathen  darkness — or  run  into  the  deeper  darkness 
of  a  civilised  man's  sins  and  unbeliefs.  Faith 
began  with  his  earliest  breath.  It  can  end  only 
when  his  self-confidence  and  self-will  have  killed 
it. 

But  those  of  us,  who  live  in  the  shelter  of  the 
churches  and  the  culture  of  the  schools,  bear  no 
mark  of  kinship  to  the  Lord  of  life,  that  may  not 
be  found  in  ' '  darkest  Africa. ' '  Our  confessions  are 


The  Laws  of  Faith  243 

no  clearer  and  truer  than  those  of  the  speechless 
child — our  obedience  no  better  than  the  prodigal 
son's.  Our  confidence  and  courage  are  always 
mixed  with  human  fear  and  discontent.  There 
is  no  man-made  hall-mark  by  which  every  child 
of  God  is  known.  If  we  are  looking  for  finished 
and  full-grown  children,  there  are  none.  And 
the  children  are  not  known  by  an  academic  or 
ecclesiastical  diploma. 

The  family  is  not,  however,  a  mere  list  of  names, 
and  even  its  living  members  do  not  all  know  their 
name  or  birthright.  Still  less  can  each  recognise 
the  other;  and  yet  there  is  some  Christ-likeness, 
some  mark  of  Christ,  in  them  all — illusory  and 
fitful  and  faint  at  best.  And  the  spirit — like 
breath  and  blood — is  given  to  each  man  that  lives. 
It  draws  its  life  from  God.  It  lives  by  faith. 

HI.  Faith  Is  the  Faculty  of  Life.  The  living 
man  depends  on  faculties  of  sense.  They  are  the 
means  by  which  he  takes  from  the  outside  world 
the  things  that  are  needed  for  his  life — and  by 
which  he  avoids  the  things  that  are  dangerous 
to  life.  These  faculties  are  themselves  tributaries 
to  the  more  mysterious  faculties  of  desire  and 
thought  and  will. 

The  Bible  teaches  that  man  receives  by  faith  the 
things  his  spirit  needs.  Faith  is  the  eye  that  sees — 
the  ear  that  listens — the  lips  that  ask — the  hand 
that  takes.  Faith  is  the  door  of  God's  access  to 


244  The  Law  of  Faith 

man — and  of  man's  approach  to  God.  It  has  no 
use  except  for  those  who  need  Him. 

God  gives  directions  and  warnings  and  promises 
and  consolations  and  assurances  of  love.  He  for- 
gives transgressions.  And  He  gives  wisdom  and 
holiness  and  power.  This  is  salvation. 

By  faith  man  hears  and  by  faith  he  receives. 
This  is  an  humble  r61e.  But  life  is  not  a  human 
achievement.  Man  is  not  a  mere  plant  or  animal. 
Yet,  like  them  both,  his  life  and  strength  and 
beauty  come  from  outside. 

The  varied  method  and  character  of  God's 
giving  is  not  here  in  question.  Faith  begins  and 
ends  with  the  fact  that  the  spirit  of  man  depends 
on  God.  His  work  may  be  by  evolution,  His  gifts 
may  come  through  heredity  and  environment— 
by  restraint  or  struggle.  But  the  spirit  of  life  is 
God's. 

Everything  in  man's  spirit  that  receives  is  faith. 
And  everything  that  refuses  is  unbelief.  The  gifts 
may  be  as  general  as  the  sun  and  rain.  To  some 
extent  they  are — and  are  as  generally  received. 
And  yet  some  plants  have  the  faculty  of  life  and  use 
its  opportunity — and  some  do  not.  And  if  there 
is  a  man  of  utter  faithlessness,  he  is  like  the  plant 
that  does  not  live — and  cannot. 

It  is  in  God's  image  that  man  was  made.  This 
is  his  highest  pride.  But  that  image  is  like  the 
image  in  the  little  child.  There  is  no  instantan- 
eous creation  of  a  full-grown  man,  but  the  small 


The  Laws  of  Faith  245 

beginnings  and  gentle  leadings  and  tiny  advances 
of  the  child.  The  father  and  the  child  are  of  one 
blood,  and  all  good  human  life  draws  them  closer 
and  makes  them  more  alike.  The  Father  of  all 
men  and  man  are  of  one  spirit  and  grow  into  a 
likeness.  And  more  than  a  likeness — unity  at 
last — comes  from  the  Father's  ceaseless  gifts  and 
the  man's  glad  faithfulness,  as  he  takes  the  gifts 
into  his  hands  and  into  his  very  self. 

Like  life,  faith  is  a  constant  activity.  It  is 
not  passive  opinions  and  feelings — but  the  ever- 
changing  position  and  attitude  and  movement  and 
exercise  of  a  living  faculty.  It  turns  toward  God 
and  toward  truth — it  carries  the  man  toward  God 
— and  binds  him  to  Him — and  hides  him  in  Him. 
The  man  lives  by  Him — and  strives  and  achieves 
in  Him.  The  eyes  of  his  understanding  open 
toward  God  and  truth,  with  new  powers  of  sight, 
and  with  growing  appreciation  of  the  vision  of  the 
unseen.  Faith,  like  the  mental  and  bodily  facul- 
ties of  man,  appropriates  and  changes  and  uses 
what  it  receives.  It  takes  life  from  God  and  His 
great  realities  and  becomes  life  in  man. 

IV.  Faith  Is  the  Means  of  Growth.  If  what 
men  are  was  worthy  of  the  Father's  love  and  praise, 
if  men  could  have  life  without  the  asking  and 
without  the  grace — man's  self-esteem  could  bear 
the  presence  of  the  king — and  noblemen  would  be 
glad  with  willing  courtliness  to  take  their  place 


246  The  Law  of  Faith 

at  His  court.  But  what  man,  if  he  were  chamber- 
lain or  judge,  would  give  a  place  of  honour  to  his 
fellows  there?  We  know  too  well,  the  other  is 
not  worthy.  We  know  it  by  the  secret,  unloved 
glimpses  of  ourselves. 

The  best  gift  that  man  has  is  his  free-will.  And 
part  of  its  price  is  self-esteem.  Here  is  a  life-long 
battlefield  of  faith.  Here  is  the  very  fortress  of 
unbelief. 

That  we  must  be  made  over  new — that  man  is 
at  best  a  child — and  has  yet  to  become  a  man- 
that  is  the  word,  and  no  man's  ears  hear  it  gladly. 
He  would  go  into  the  temple — but  he  must  still  be 
an  honoured,  law-abiding,  and  righteous  Pharisee. 

In  the  school  of  self-help,  in  the  struggles  of  civil- 
ised life,  pride  flourishes.  But  the  fine  pride  of 
the  old-time  knight  grows  slowly  in  business  and 
social  life — while  the  poor  weed-like  growth  of  his 
self-esteem  and  his  spiritual  sufficiency  flourish. 

All  the  good  things  that  he  has  won  in  honourable 
worldly  ways — and  even  his  best  attainments  of 
knowledge  and  influence — are  lined  up  now  against 
his  faith.  Can  such  a  man  feel  a  need — and 
pray — like  the  poor  and  the  despised?  Can  he 
stand  before  God  like  a  sinful  Publican? 

But  when  the  sun  and  the  rain  and  the  air  and 
the  soil  have  come  from  God,  and  have  reached 
his  willing  pulses,  and  are  seized  by  his  eager 
faculties,  there  is  a  new  plant  in  the  Lord's  garden 
— and  the  time  of  beauty  and  fruitage  comes.  The 


The  Laws  of  Faith  247 

needed  things — wisdom  and  goodness  and  strength 
—that  he  had  not,  are  now  becoming  his — and 
life  and  growth  follow.  He  has  done  nothing  but 
be  open  to  receive — nothing  to  boast  of — but  much 
to  rejoice  in. 

This  is  why  faith  and  character  always  come 
together  in  the  Book  of  Faith,  as  we  have  seen. 

It  would  be  natural,  if  God  favoured  and  saved 
the  good.  It  would  be  fine,  if  we  were  good.  But 
it  is  like  God  alone  to  help  and  save  the  countless 
multitudes,  who  are  far  from  good — but  "who 
believe,"  and  who  shall  all  be  like  Him,  when  the 
seed  that  is  now  in  the  ground  is  fully  grown. 

V.  Faith  Is  our  Active  Power.  Human 
achievement  depends  on  faith  as  much  as  human 
character.  Human  nature  with  its  natural  desires 
and  powers  begins — and  fails. 

Half  the  price  paid  for  man's  priceless  free-will 
is  his  personal  self-will.  Self-will,  in  all  its  self- 
assertion  and  self-indulgence,  is  the  second  great 
fort  of  unbelief.  Good  purposes  and  noble  actions 
always  come  to  a  place  where  the  next  step  must 
be  self-sacrifice — a  sacrifice  of  the  self-will. 

And  first  or  last,  each  of  us  is  the  Prodigal  Son — • 
and  must  have  what  the  Father  can  give  him 
now — and  must  spend  it  in  his  own  way.  And  in 
this  way  he  learns. 

He  learns  that  strength,  not  favour  only,  comes 
from  the  Father — and  with  that  strength  work  is 


248  The  Law  of  Faith 

accomplished,  and  deeds  are  done.  He  is  one  of 
the  Father's  household  of  faithfulness — one  of  the 
great  company  of  God's  exhibitors,  in  the  Greek 
games  of  life — in  contests  and  hardships  and 
services  innumerable.  He  not  only  hears — but 
strives  and  achieves  and  endures — by  faith.  He 
follows  the  "perfect"  ''captain"  of  all  martyrs 
and  victors,  "the  faithful  and  true  Witness"  of 
the  goodness  and  power  of  God.  Faith  is  the 
impetus  that  draws  men  after  Him. 

This  is  why  faith  and  conduct  always  stand 
together  in  the  Book  of  Faith,  as  we  have  seen.  In 
faith  man's  effort  meets  God's  strength.  Here  is 
the  outcrop  and  display  of  God's  favour  to  the 
faith  that  hungers  and  strives  and  endures  and 
sacrifices  self — the  faith  that  has  made  a  man — 
God's  man,  in  more  than  feudal  sense — and  shall 
make  the  man  like  Him  that  fashioned  him — for 
it  has  laid  hold  on  Himself. 

VI.    Faith's  Activities  Are  as  Variable  as  Life. 

It  moves  the  mind  to  believe.  It  moves  the 
heart  to  trust  and  hope.  It  moves  the  will  to 
obey.  It  moves  the  lips  to  truth  and  the  hands  to 
service.  It  moves  the  whole  man  to  good  will 
and  stedfastness. 

But  its  influence  is  not  always  a  power  in  all  the 
thoughts  and  acts  of  any  man.  That  is  the  faith- 
fulness of  God  alone.  In  man — as  in  all  human 
life  and  nature — there  is  the  constant  struggle — 


The  Laws  of  Faith  249 

and  the  infinite  variety.  There  is  the  divine 
impulse  of  faith — and  there  is  the  free-will 
antagonist,  himself. 

At  best,  faith's  victory  fluctuates — and  it  does 
not  cover  the  whole  field.  It  is  the  same  cause — 
and  the  same  battle — for  a  whole  lifetime — in  the 
entire  man — in  every  man.  His  mind,  his  heart, 
his  affections,  desires,  purposes,  and  actions  are 
none  of  them  neutral  ground. 

Wherever  and  whenever  faith  wins,  there  is  life 
and  salvation.  Is  there  ever  defeat  and  death 
along  the  whole  line?  And  nothing  left  in  a  man, 
which  still  shows  fight  for  good?  Life  that  is  once 
wholly  lost  by  the  body  cannot  return.  And  there 
is  nothing  in  a  dead  body  and  mind  and  spirit  to 
turn  back  to  God  or  take  fresh  strength  from  him. 
The  man's  faith  was  his  life.  Has  it  been  lost  by 
any  man? 

But  there  is  life,  while  there  is  any  faith.  It 
may  not  be  faith's  complete  vigour  in  the  whole 
man.  In  any  part  of  him  may  be  the  paralysis  of 
unbelief — with  life  and  hope  still  in  him. 

And  there  are  inconsistencies  in  the  man's 
different  natures  and  moods.  His  mind  may  give 
grave  and  careful  assent  to  truth,  and  receive  it 
gladly  in  its  Bible  form  and  measure — while  his 
heart  is  not  moved  to  praise  or  trustfulness — and 
his  hands  or  lips  are  far  from  faithful.  And  so  his 
mind  or  hands  may  fail,  while  his  heart  still  throbs. 

Only  the  great  Physician  knows,  in  every  hard- 


250  The  Law  of  Faith 

est  case,  what  man  of  us  still  has  some  faith  and 
life  in  him.  No  other  man  can  say,  this  one  is 
dead.  And  no  man  that  has  died  knows  he  has 
ceased  to  live  and  will  not  live  again. 

VH.  Faith  Is  Man's  Choice.  It  is  only  a  free 
faith  that  is  worth  while.  There  is  some  holy 
pride  and  joy  in  man  that  makes  him  strive  for  a 
child's  place  and  service  rather  than  any  most 
profitable  slavery.  The  prizes  of  faith  are  offered 
to  a  man  whose  will  is  free. 

But  a  man  can  never  see  the  whole  picture  of  an 
endless  life,  and  measure  the  gains  and  losses  of 
each  moment  by  their  real  final  value.  He  lives 
on  daily  bread — and  in  daily  opportunities.  He 
chooses  among  the  seeming  trifles  of  every  day. 
He  chooses  ten  thousand  times,  and  acts  every 
hour  on  that  choice. 

He  does  not  choose  at  once  his  way  of  life — 
and  his  life's  aim  and  confidence  and  hope  and 
creed. 

Each  choice  affects  the  next,  but  it  does  not 
generally  control  it. 

How  shall  he  choose  where  to  trust?  How  shall 
he  choose  his  duty?  and  his  creed?  He  does  not 
and  cannot  knowingly  choose  the  whole.  But  he 
is  choosing  from  hour  to  hour,  between  likes  and 
dislikes,  inclinations  and  disinclinations,  ease  and 
effort,  true  and  false. 

And  in  a  way,  some  choices  have  been  made  for 


The  Laws  of  Faith  251 

him  before  his  birth  and  in  the  circumstances 
which  are  always  about  him.  These  give  him  a 
fixity  and  poise  that  are  the  beginnings  of  the 
man.  He  can  count,  in  some  sense,  on  the  near 
future  and  the  commonplace,  as  he  counts  on 
gravity  and  seasons.  He  cannot  choose  to  be  a 
beast  of  the  field.  But  a  man's  choices  are  offered 
him,  and  he  makes  them  freely. 

He  must  be  always  choosing  and  taking  in 
good  faith.  He  cannot  pretend  to  choose.  He 
must  sincerely  choose.  This  is  the  law  that 
enforces  itself  daily  in  his  life.  To  break  it  is 
insanity. 

A  man  cannot  make  half -choices.  He  cannot 
choose  to  be  and  not  to  be,  or  to  do  and  not  to  do. 
He  may  not  be  what  he  chooses,  for  his  will  is 
weak,  and  there  is  a  conflicting  and  often  victorious 
self.  But  he  cannot  divide  the  faith  that  is  in 
itself  indivisible.  He  cannot  choose  to  believe 
and  not  trust  or  to  trust  and  not  obey,  or  to  be 
faithful  and  not  believing.  In  fact — and  in  his 
weakness — he  may,  in  all  its  inconsistency,  be  any 
one  or  only  one  of  these.  And  it  is  often  so  with 
all  of  us.  The  failure  is  in  our  practical  effort. 
Faith  tries  to  see  and  hear  and  do.  We  may  fail 
to  see  and  yet  may  do.  But  no  faithful  man  can 
choose  to  see  and  not  to  hear,  or  to  do  and  not  to  see. 

The  sum  of  many  choices  becomes  in  time  a 
disposition  that  prefigures,  and  sometimes  fixes, 
larger  choices.  Perhaps  a  man  can  trace  imper- 


252  The  Law  of  Faith 

fectly  in  mature  life  the  way  he  came  to  hold  the 
views,  and  seek  the  objects,  and  trust  the  strength, 
and  be  the  man,  and  do  the  things,  that  now  make 
up  his  life.  He  can  hardly  review  it  all.  He 
cannot  retrace  the  steps. 

But  he  can  never  sincerely  say  that  he  was  made 
so.  He  knows  that  his  spirit  was  not  chained 
down  to  any  heredity  or  held  irresistibly  by  any 
environment.  It  is  his  pride  that  he  is  a  man  and 
free — he  chooses  and  he  is  responsible. 

But  this  choice  must  not  only  be  bona  fide. 
It  has  to  be  a  limited  one.  And  his  responsibility 
is  as  limited  as  his  free  and  actual  choice. 

He  can  only  choose  as  a  man  of  his  own  time 
and  race  and  opportunity.  There  is  a  point  at 
which  environment  controls.  Where  God  draws 
the  circle  of  every  man's  controlling  environ- 
ment, no  other  man  can  know.  We  know 
that  he  is  not  controlled,  like  other  creatures, 
by  seas  and  climates  and  secrets  of  the  earth  and 
heavens.  Perhaps  his  faith  may  break  through 
all  environments  of  schooling,  and  disposition,  of 
false  weights  and  measures,  at  last. 

To  hear  and  learn  and  judge  and  obey  and 
act,  as  each  best  can — sincerely  and  at  all  cost — 
in  all  good  conscience  and  good  faith — this  is  his 
faithfulness.  This  is  faith. 

VHI.    The  Faithful  Are  God's   Chosen.     We 

speak  of  the  Jews  as  God's  chosen  people,  but  it  is 


The  Laws  of  Faith  253 

not  here  a  question  of  any  tribe  or  class — but  of 
each  faithful  man. 

The  Book  of  Faith  presents  God  to  men  as 
Creator,  Father,  Ruler,  and  Judge.  It  divides 
men  into  the  faithful  and  the  unfaithful.  It 
speaks  of  faith  as  Belief  of  words  that  are  spoken 
to  the  man  and  truths  that  are  made  plain  to  him. 
It  speaks  of  faith  as  Trust  in  God  and  Christ, 
committing  one's  self  to  Him  as  Lord,  following 
Him  as  leader,  depending  on  Him  as  Father.  It 
speaks  of  faith  as  Faithfulness  in  word  and  deed— 
of  the  true  messenger  and  witness,  the  trust- 
worthy servant,  the  obedient  soldier.  It  speaks 
of  faith  as  Safety.  It  speaks  of  it  as  The 
Truth. 

And  it  speaks  of  the  Faithfulness  of  God — 
always  trustworthy — always  still  trusting  man. 

And  the  Book  of  Faith  speaks  of  this  gift  of 
faith  to  man  as  though  it  carried  with  it,  or 
was  followed  by,  all  God's  goodness — as  Maker, 
Father,  Deliverer,  Giver,  Leader,  Lord,  and 
Saviour. 

The  Book  of  Faith  would  not  be  consistent  with 
itself — nor  with  the  books  we  read  in  our  own 
reason  and  in  all  human  nature — if  what  God  gave 
us  as  His  most  constant  gift  was  the  cup  of  His 
wrath — and  not  His  favour. 

To  a  "chosen  people"  of  Israel  the  forms  of 
favour  were  safety,  prosperity,  and  victory.  To 
the  full-grown  men  of  faith,  sons  of  His  love,  God 


254  The  Law  of  Faith 

offers  a  forgiveness,  a  righteousness,  a  salvation, 
and  a  future  that  is  all  of  these  and  more. 

The  whole  story  of  man's  faith  is  the  story  of 
how  man  takes  and  uses  any  and  all  gifts  of  God. 
The  story  of  God's  faithfulness  is  the  Gospel — the 
story  of  what  He  gives. 

IX.  The  Faith  Is  the  Truth.  Perfectly  seen  by 
none,  clearly  seen  by  few,  high  above  us  and  far 
beyond  us,  and  yet  lying  close  about  us,  the  truth 
lies  outside  of  us.  It  is  the  object  of  every  sense 
and  thought  of  man.  Our  contact  with  it  makes 
us  men,  determines  our  character  as  men,  and 
proves  the  success  or  failure  of  the  whole  world 
of  men.  What  will  we  do  with  facts?  This  is  the 
daily  question.  It  does  not  always  come  in 
specific  form,  as  it  was  put  by  Pilate — but  it 
recurs  every  day  in  the  child's  school-book  and  long 
before  that— in  the  use  of  common  opportunities 
and  common  tools — in  the  performance  of  daily 
duties  and  the  completion  of  the  life-work. 

"The  faith"— for  each  of  us— is  all  that  he 
believes  and  does  and  is — the  whole  man  in  his 
world  of  knowledge  and  thought  and  desire  and 
love  and  action. 

Within  us — our  own  faith  is  our  life,  and  makes 
us  share,  knowingly  or  unknowingly,  in  the 
world's  life  and  in  the  life  of  the  Life-giver. 

Outside  of  and  around  us — "the  Faith"  is  the 
whole  world's  life  and  being — the  universe  of 


The  Laws  of  Faith  255 

fact — the  created  things  of  God — the  gospel — the 
whole  unsearchable  purpose,  and  the  very  person 
of  Him  who  is  the  Life  and  Truth.  The  faithful 
God  is  the  Father  of  all  that  are  faithful,  the 
Truth  of  all  that  believe,  the  Crown  of  all  that 
strive,  the  Hope  of  all  that  trust.  He  is  the 
beginning  and  the  end  of  all  man's  faith. 

All  that  we  can  receive  in  body,  mind,  and 
spirit — by  belief,  obedience,  confidence,  and  hope 
— that  is  our  faith.  And  what  the  spirit  of  man 
receives,  the  Bible  calls  The  Faith. 


FAITH-TEXTS  AND  INDEX 

This  Index  contains,  in  the  usual  order  of  the 
Scriptures,  the  complete  list  of  Faith- words  printed 
from  the  Authorised  Version  with  Revised  Version 
changes  in  parentheses. 

After  each  passage  is  designated  in  numbers:  ist, 
the  word,  root,  and  inflection  used  in  the  original  text 
— and  2d  (after  a  dash),  the  chapter  or  chapters  of 
this  book  in  which  the  passage  is  referred  to.  The 
first  number — preceding  the  dash — indicates  as  fol- 
lows: the  first  figure  the  Greek  word  or  root,  the 
second  figure  the  Greek  case  or  preposition.  This  is 
done  more  particularly  as  follows : 

(First  figure)  I,  Pistis,  pistos,  pisteuo,  and  their 
compounds  and  derivatives — 2,  Peitho,  and  its  com- 
pounds and  derivatives — 3,  Elpis,  elpizo,  and  their 
compounds  and  derivatives — 4,  Aletheia,  alethes, 
and  their  compounds  and  derivatives — 6,  Some  less 
frequent  word.  Then  (second  figure)  the  case, 
conjunction,  or  preposition  used  with  the  first  figure, 
e.g.,  i,  Dative,  to — 2,  En,  in  or  on — 3,  Eis,  into,  unto 
— 4,  Epi,  upon — 5,  Oti,  that,  because — 6,  Some  less 
frequent  inflection. 

Gen.  15:6  believed  in  the  Lord         .         .  11-8,13 

34: 25  came  boldly    ....  60- 1 6 

42:20  words  verified           .         .          .-  10-16 

45:26  believed  them           .         .         ,  11-14,18 

17  257 


258 


Faith-Texts  and  Index 


Ex.  4:  i  believe  me       . 

:  5  believe  that  the  Lord  appeared 

:  8  believe  thee     . 

:  9  believe  these  signs   . 

:  31  the  people  believed 

14:31  believed  the  Lord     . 

17:  12  his  hands  were  steady 

19:9  believe  thee     . 

23:21  provoke  him  not 

Lev.  25;  18  in  safety          . 

:  19  in  safety          . 

26: 5  dwell  safely     .          .         .   . 

:  15  despise  (abhor)  my  statutes 

Numb.  11:20  despised  (rejected)  the  Lord 

12 :  7  Moses  is  faithful 

14:11  believe  me       . 

20: 10  ye  rebels          . 

:  12  believed  me  not 

Deut.  1 : 26  rebelled  . 

:  32  believe  the  Lord 

7:9  the  faithful  God 

9:  7  been  rebellious  (provoked) 

:23  rebelled  . 

:  23  believed  him  not 

:  24  rebellious         . 

12:  IO  dwell  in  safety 

21:18  rebellious  son 

:  20  rebellious         . 

28:  52  trusted  in 

:  59  of  long  continuance . 

:  65  a  trembling  heart     . 

:  66  assurance  of  thy  life 

32 :  4  a  God  of  truth  (faithfulness)     . 

:  20  in  whom  is  no  faith . 

:  37  in  whom  they  trusted 

:  51  trespassed  against  me 

33:12  dwell  in  safety 

:  28  dwell  in  safety 

Josh,  i :  1 8  rebel 


11-18 
15-18 
11-18 

11-13 
10-13,  18 

11-13 

60-16 

11-13 

20-4 

20-16 

20-16 

60-16 

21-4 

21-4 

10-4 

11-6,13 

20-4 

10-7 

21-4 

1 1-6 

io-3 

21-4 

21-4 

n-6 

21-4 

60-16 

20-4 

20-4 

24-15 
10-16 
20-16 
11-16 

10-3 

10-4 
24-15 

21-4 
20-16 
20-16 

21-4 


Faith-Texts  and  Index  259 

Josh.  5:6  obeyed  not  the  voice         .         .  26-4 

Judg.  8:  ii  secure     .....  20-16 

9:15  put  your  trust  in      .          .         .  62-14 

:  26  put  their  confidence  in      .          .  32-14 

ii :  20  trusted  not  to  pass  .          .         .  11-18 

18:7  dwell  careless           .         .         .  30-16 

:  7  secure     .....  30-16 

:  10  secure     .....  30-16 

:  27  secure     .....  30-16 

20: 36  trusted  unto    ....  36-14 

Ruth  i :  12  have  hope        ....  60-17 

2:  12  trust  (take  refuge)  under           .  26-5 

1  Sam.  2:35  a  faithful  priest        .          .          .  10-4 

:  35  a  sure  house    ....  10-16 

3:20  established  a  prophet        .          .  10-16 

12:  ii  dwell  safe  (in  safety)         .          .  20-16 

22:14  faithful  among  thy  servants       .  10-4 

24: 7  stayed  his  servants            .          .  20-18 

25:28  a  sure  house    ....  10-16 

26:23  his  faithfulness         .          .  10-4 

27:  12  believed  David         .          .          .  11-18 

2  Sam.  7:  1 6  shall  be  established           .          .  10-16 

20:  19  faithful  in  Israel       .          .          .  60-4 

22 : 3  trust  (take  refuge)  in  him          .  24-5 

:  31  trust  (take  refuge)  in  him          .  24-5 

1  Kings  4:  25  dwell  safely     ....  00-16 

5:5  set  upon  thy  throne          .          .  60- 1 6 

8:26  thy  word  verified     .          .          .  10-16 

10:7  believed  not  the  words      .          .  11-18 

11:38  a  sure  house    ....  10-16 

2  Kings  5:  1 6  he  refused        ....  20-4 

12:15  dealt  faithfully         .          .          .  10-4 

16:2  was  right         ....  10-4 

17:4  believe  in  (on)  the  Lord   .          .  00-13 

18:5  trust  in  the  Lord     .          .          .  32-5,6 

:  19  trust  in  .          .          .          .          .  20-14 

18:20  trust  on  whom          .          .          .  21-14 

:2i  trust  upon  Egypt     .          .          .  24-14 

:  22  trust  in  the  Lord      .          .          .  24-5 


260 


Faith-Texts  and  Index 


2  Kings  1  8  :  24 
-.30 
19:  10 
22:7 

1  Chron.  5:  20 

9:22 
:26 

:3i 

17:  14 

:23 

:24 

2  Chron.  1  :  9 

6:17 

9:6 

14:  II 

16:7 

:8 

19:9 

20:20 

:  20 

:20 

31:12 


32:  10 


34:12 
Ezra  10:  2 
NJh.  7:2 
9:8 
:29 
:3» 
13   13 
Esther  4:  4 
9:1 
Job  4:6 

:  18 
5:16 


trust  on  Egypt 
trust  in  the  Lord 
trust  in  whom 
dealt  faithfully 
put  their  trust  in 
their  set  office 
set  (trust)  office 
set  (trust)  office 
will  settle  him 
established  for  ever 
established  before  thee 
promise  established 
word  verified  . 
believed  their  words 
rest  (rely)  on  thee    . 
rely  on  the  Lord 
rely  on  the  Lord 
do  faithfully    . 
believe  in  the  Lord 
believe  his  prophets 
be  established 
brought  in  faithfully 
set  office  (of  trust)   . 
set  office  (of  trust) 
whereon  ye  trust 
persuade  you  . 
believe  him 
did  faithfully  . 
there  is  hope  . 
a  faithful  man 
faithful  before  thee 
withdrew  the  shoulder 
a  sure  covenant 
counted  faithful 
received  it  not 
hoped  to  have  power 
thy  confidence 
put  no  trust  in 
the  poor  hath  hope 


34-14 
30-7 
24-7 
10-4 

34-5 

10-4,16 

10-4,16 

10-4,16 

10-16 

10-16 

10-16 

10-16 

10-16 

11-18 

24-5 
24-14 

24-5 
40-4 

12-5 

12-13 

12-16 

10-4 

10-4,16 

10-4,16 

24-6 

26-14,18 

11-14,18 

10-4 

60-6 
40-4 

10-4 

20-4 

10-16 

10-4 

26-18 
00-17 

30-7 

16-14 

30-17 


Faith-Texts  and  Index 


261 


Job 


6:  II 
:  13 
-.20 

7:6 

8:  13 

:  14 

:  14 

9:  1  6 

11:18 

:  18 

:  20 

12:5 

:  20 
13:  15 
14:  7 

:  19 

15:  15 

:  22 

131 

17:9 

:  15 
18:  14 
19:10 
24:22 
27:8 
29:24 
31:21 
:  24 


35:14 

39:11 

:  12 

:  24 
40:23 

Psalms  2  :  12 
4:  5 
:  8 
5:9 
:  1  1 


I  should  hope           .                   .  60-16 

my  help.          .          .                   .  24-16 

they  had  hoped        .          .          .  20-14,15 

without  hope.          .          .          .  30-16 

the  hypocrite's  hope          .          .  30-15,17 

his  hope           ....  00-15 

his  trust          ....  00-15 

believe  that  he  had  heard          .  15-18 

there  is  hope  ....  30-17 

be  secure         ....  20-16 

their  hope       ....  30-17 

at  ease   .....  20-16 

the  trusty        ....  10-4 

trust  (hope)  in  him           .          .  00-5 

there  is  hope  ....  30-17 

the  hope  of  a  man   .         .         .  30-17 

put  no  trust  in         ...  16-14 

believe  that  he  shall  return        .  10-17 

trust  in  vanity         .          .          .  15-15 

the  righteous  ....  10-4 

my  hope          ....  30-17 

his  confidence  (trust)        .          .  60-15 

my  hope          ....  30-17 

sure  of  life       ....  16-16 

the  hope  of  the  hypocrite           .  30-17 

believed  (had  confidence)           .  10-18 

when  I  saw     ....  25-16 

my  hope          ....  60-15 

my  confidence          .          .         .  21-15 

trust  in  him    ....  00-8 

trust  him         ....  24-15 

believe  (confide  in)  him    .          .  15-15 

believe  that  it  is       .          .          .  16-18 

trust  (is  confident)  that  he  can  .  25-18 

put  their  trust  in  him       .          .  24-5,9 

put  trust  in  the  Lord        .          .  34-5 

dwell  in  safety          .         .          .  30-16 

no  faithfulness          .          .          .  4°~4 

put  their  trust  in     .         .         .  34-7 


262  Faith-Texts  and  Index 


Psalms  7 :  i  put  my  trust  in        ...  34-5 
9:  10  put  their  trust  in  thee       .          .  34-5 
:  1 8  the  expectation        .          .          .  60-17 
1 1 :  I  put  my  trust  in        ...  -4~5 
12:1  the  faithful  fail         .          .          .  40-4 
13:5  trusted  in  thy  mercy         .          .  34-5 
16:9  rest  in  hope  (safety)          .          .  30-17 
17: 7  put  their  trust  in  thee      .         .  34-5 
19: 7  the  testimony  is  sure        .         .  10-16 
20: 7  trust  in  chariots       .          .          .  62-15 
21:7  trust  in  the  Lord      .          .         .  34-5 
22:4  tmsted  in  thee         .         .         .  34-5 
:  4  they  trusted    ....  30-5 
:  5  trusted  in  thee          .         .         .  30-5 
:  8  trusted  on  the  Lord          .         .  34-5 
:  9  make  me  hope          .          .          .  30-5 
25 : 2  I  trust  in  thee          .         .         .  24-5 
:  20  put  my  trust  in  thee         .          .  34-5 
26:  i  trusted  in  the  Lord           .         .  34~5 
27: 3  I  will  be  confident   .          .         .  34~5 
:  13  believed  to  see          ...  10-7,17 
28: 7  trusted  in  him          .          .          .  32-5 
31:1  put  my  trust  in  thee         .          .  34-5 
:  6  trust  in  the  Lord      .          .          .  30-5 
:  14  trusted  in  thee         .         .         .  30-5 
:  19  trust  in  thee    .         .         .  34~5 
:  23  the  faithful     ....  40-4 
:  24  hope  in  the  Lord      .          .          .  34~7 
32 :  10  trust  in  the  Lord     .  34~5 
33 :  4  works  done  in  truth   (faithful- 
ness)           ....  10-3 
:  1 8  hope  in  his  mercy     .         .         .  34~5 
:2i  trusted  in  his  name           .  32~7 
:  22  we  hope  in  thee       .         .         .  32~5 
34:8  trusts  in  him            .                   .  34~5 
:  22  trust  in  him    ....  34-5 
36: 5  thy  faithfulness        .          .          .  4°~3 
:  7  put  their  trust  under         .          .  32-5 
37:3  trust  in  the  Lord     .         .         . 


Faith-Texts  and  Index  263 


Psalms  37 : 5  trust  in  him    ....  30-5 

:  40  trust  in  him    ....  34~5 

38:15  hope  in  thee    ....  34-5 

39: 7  my  hope  is  in  thee  .         .         .  66-5,8 

40:3  trust  in  the  Lord     .         .         .  34-5 

:  4  make  the  Lord  his  trust  .         .  30-5 

:  10  thy  faithfulness        .          .          .  40-3 

41 : 9  in  whom  I  trusted   .         .         .  34-I4 

42:5  hope  thou  in  God    .          .         .  34~5,6 

:  1 1  hope  thou  in  God    .          .         .  34~5,6 

43 : 5  hope  in  God    ....  34~5»6 

44:6  trust  in  my  bow       .          .         .  34-15 

49:6  trust  in  their  wealth          .         .  24-15 

52: 7  trusted  in  his  riches          .         .  34-15 

:  8  trust  in  the  mercy  of  God         .  34-5 

55:  23  trust  in  thee    ....  30-5 

56: 3  trust  in  thee    ....  30-7 

:  4  put  my  trust  in  God         .         .  32-7 

:  1 1  put  my  trust  in  God         .         .  34-7 

57:  i  trust  in  thee    ....  24-5 

61:4  trust  (take  refuge)  in  the  covert  66-5 

62:5  my  expectation  is  from  him       .  60-17 

:  8  trust  in  him    ....  30-5 

:  10  trust  not  in  oppression     .          .  34~i6 

64:  10  trust  (take  refuge)  in  him          .  34-5 

65:5  the  confidence  of  the  earth        .  30-5,6 

68 :  1 8  the  rebellious            .         .          .  20-4 

71 :  i  put  my  trust  in  thee         .          .  34-5 

:  5  thou  art  my  hope    .         .          .  60-5,6 

:  5  thou  art  my  trust    .         .         .  30-5,6 

:  14  I  will  hope  continually     .         .  30-5,6 

73:28  put   my   trust  (refuge)    in   the 

Lord  .                   ...  32-5 

78 : 7  set  their  hope  in  God        .          .  34-6 

:  8  not  stedfast  with  God      .         .  10-4 

:  22  believed  not  in  God          .         .  12-5 

:  22  trusted  not  in  his  salvation        .  34~5 

:  32  believed  not  for  his  works          .  11-5,13 

:  37  stedfast  in  his  covenant    .         .  10-4 


264 


Faith-Texts  and  Index 


Psalms  78 153  led  them  on  safely   . 

:  57  dealt      unfaithfully      (treacher- 
ously) . 

84:12  trusts  in  thee 

86:2  trusts  in  thee 

88:  ii  thy  faithfulness 

89:  I  thy  faithfulness 

:  2  thy  faithfulness 

:  5  thy  faithfulness 

:8  thy  faithfulness 

:  24  my  faithfulness 

:  28  stand  fast  with  him 

•  33  mY  faithfulness 

:  37  a  faithful  witness     . 

:  49  in  thy  truth  (faithfulness) 

91:2  in  him  will  I  trust    . 

:  4  trust  under  his  wings 

92 :  2  thy  faithfulness 

93 :  5  testimonies  very  sure 

96:  13  with  his  truth 

98 :  3  his  truth  (faithfulness) 

100:5  his  truth  (faithfulness)      . 

loi :  6  the  faithful      . 

1 06:  12  believed  his  words   . 

:  24  believed  not  his  word 

in:  7  his  commandments  are  sure 

112:  7  trusting  in  the  Lord 

115:8  trusts  in  him 

:  9  trust  in  the  Lord 

:  10  trust  in  the  Lord 

:  1 1  trust  in  the  Lord 

116:  10  I  believed        . 

118:8  trust  in  the  Lord 

:  8  put  confidence  in  man 

:  9  trust  in  the  Lord 

:  9  put  confidence  in  princes 

1 19 :  30  the  way  of  truth  (faithfulness)    . 

:  42  I  trust  in  the  word  . 

:  43  hoped  in  thy  judgments  . 


30-16 

60-4 
34-5 
34-5 
40-3 
40-3 
40-3 
40-3 
40-3 
40-3 
10-3,16 

40-3 
10-4 

40-3 
34-5 
36-5 
40-3 
10-16 

40-3 
40-3 
40-3 
10-4 
11-13 

11-13 
.10-16 

34-7 
24-15 
34-5 
34-5 
34-5 
10-7 

24-5,  H 
24-5,14 
34-5.H 
34-5,H 
40-4 

34-13 
34-13 


Faith-Texts  and  Index  265 

Psalms  1 19  -.49  thou  hast  caused  me  to  hope  .  36-13 
:  66  believed  (in)  thy  command- 
ments ....  11-4 
:  74  hoped  in  thy  word  .  .  .  33-I3 
:  75  in  faithfulness  .  .  .  40-3 
:  8 1  hope  in  thy  word  .  .  33~i3 
:  86  thy  commandments  are  faithful  40-3 
:  90  thy  faithfulness  .  .  .  40-3 

:  114             hope  in 36-13 

:  138  very  faithful   ....  40-3 

:  147  hope  in  .          .          .          .          .  36-13 

125:1  trust  in  the  Lord     ....    24-5 

130: 5  in  his  word  do  I  hope        .          .  62-5 

:  6  waiteth  for  the  Lord         .          .  34-5 

:  7  hope  in  the  Lord      .          .         .  34-5 

131:3  hope  in  the  Lord      .         .         .  34-5 

135:  1 8  every  one  that  trusteth  in  them  24-15 

141:8  in  thee  is  my  trust            .          .  24-5 

143:1  in  thy  faithfulness  answer  me     .  40-3 

:  8  in  thee  do  I  trust     .          .          .  00-5 

144:2  in  whom  I  trust       .          .         .  34-5 

145:17  the  Lord  is  righteous        .          .  10-3 

146: 3  put  not  your  trust  in  princes        .  24-I4 

:  5  whose  hope  is  in  the  Lord          .  34~i? 

147:11  those  that  hope  in  his  mercy     .  34~I7 

Prov.  i :  25  would  none  of  my  reproof          .  20-4 

:  33  shall  dwell  safely      .          .          .  30-16 

2:  12  speaketh  f reward  things   .          .  10-18 

3:3  mercy  and  truth      .          .          .  10-18 

:  5  trust  in  the  Lord     .          .          .  24-5 

:  2-$  walk  in  thy  way  safely     .          .  20-16 

:  26  thy  Lord  shall  be  thy  confidence  66-5 

:  29  dwelleth  securely  by  thee           .  20-16 

10:9  walketh  surely          .          .         .  20-16 

:  28  the  hope  of  the  righteous           .  30-17 

:  28  expectation  of  the  wicked          .  30-17 

11:7  his  expectation  shall  perish         .  30-17 

:  13  of  a  faithful  spirit    .          .          .  10-4 

:  15  surety     .....  60-14 


266 


Faith-Texts  and  Index 


Prov.  11:23  the  expectation  of  the  wicked    .  30-17 

:28  trusteth  in  his  riches         .         .  24-15 

12:  17  speaketh  truth         .         .         .  10-18 

:  22  they  that  deal  truly          .         .  10-18 

13:  12  hope  deferred            .          .          .  30-17 

:  1 7  a  faithful  ambassador       .          .  60-4 

14:7  a  faithful  witness     .          .          .  10-4 

:  15  belie veth  every  word        .         .  10-18 

:  16  is  confident     ....  20-16 

:  22  mercy  and  truth      .         .         .  10-18 

:  25  a  true  witness           .         .         .  10-4 

:  26  strong  confidence     .          .          .  30-7,16 

:32  hath  hope        ....      21-16,17 

15:28  studieth  to  answer  .         .         .  10-18 

16:20  trusteth  in  the  Lord          .          .  24-5 

17:7  excellent  speech       .         .         .  10-18 

19:18  there  is  hope  ....  30-17 

20: 6  a  faithful  man          .          .          .  10-4 

21:22  the  confidence          .          .          .  24-15 

22:  19  that  thy  trust  may  be  in  the 

Lord  .                  .         .  34-7 

23:18  thine  expectation  (hope)  .         .  30-17 

24: 14  thine  expectation  (hope)  .          .  30-17 

:2i  meddle     (company)     not    with 

them  .....  21-4 

25: 13  a  faithful  messenger          .         .  10-4 

:  19  confidence  in             ...  10-14 

:  19  an  unfaithful  man    .         .         .  00-4,14 

26:  12  more  hope  of  a  fool           .         .  30-17 

:  25  believe  him  not        .          .          .  20-14 

27:6  faithful 10-4 

28:1  bold  as  a  lion           .         .         .  10-16 

:  20  a  faithful  man          .         .         .  10-4 

:  25  of  a  proud  heart      .         .         .  10-16 

:  25  putteth  his  trust  in  the  Lord     .  24-5 

:  26  trusteth  in  his  own  heart           ^  21-16 

29:  14  faithfully  judgeth    .         .         .  4°~4 

:  25  putteth  his  trust  in  the  Lord     .  24-5 

30: 5  put  their  trust  in  him       .         .  60-5 


Faith-Texts  and  Index 


267 


Prov.3i:  II 
Eccl.    9:4 
Isaiah  1:21 
-.23 
'25 
:26 
3:8 
7:9 

:i6 
8:2 
:  II 


10:20 
:2O 

n:5 
1  1  :  10 
12:2 
14:30 
:32 
17:7 
:8 
:  10 
20:5 
:6 

22:23 
:24 
=  25 
25:1 
26:2 

'3 
:4 

28:16 
:  17 

30:2 
=  3 
-9 
:  12 
:  12 


safely  trust  in  her    .          .          .  60-14 

there  is  hope             .          .          .  3°~17 

the  faithful  city       .          .          .  10-4 

rebellious         ....  20-4 
thy  dross         .         .         .         .   »         20-4 

the  faithful  city       .         .         .  10-4 

provoke           ....  26-4 

will  not  believe        .          .         .  10-13 

refuse  the  evil          .          .         .  26-4 

faithful  witnesses     .          .         .  10-4 

should  not  walk       .         .         .  21-4 

a  sanctuary     .          .          .         .  00-5 

look  for  him    ....  24-5 

stay  upon  him          .          .          .  24-5,14 

stay  upon  the  Lord           .          .  24-5,14 

faithfulness     ....  00-3 

to  it  shall  the  Gentiles  seek       .  34-9 

I  will  trust      ....  24-2,8 

lie  down  in  safety    .          .          .  60- 1 6 

trust  in  it        .          .          .          .  60-5,15 

look  to  his  Maker    .          .          .  24-5,15 

look  to  the  altars     .          .          .  24-5,15 

strange  slips    ....  10-4 

the  expectation       .          .          .  24-14 

our  expectation        .          .          .  24-14 

in  a  sure  place          .          .          .  10-16 

hang  upon  him         .         .          .  20-14 

the  sure  place.          .          .          .  10-16 

faithfulness  and  truth       .          .  40-3 

the  truth         ....  40-17 

he  trusteth  in  thee            .         .  34-5 

trust  ye  in  the  Lord          .          .  3°~5 

he  that  believeth      .          .          .  10-5,9 

the  refuge  of  lies      .          .          .  21-15 

trust  in  the  shadow.          .          .  60-14 

the  trust  in  the  shadow  of  Egypt  24-1 4 

a  rebellious  people  .          .          .  20-4 

despise  this  word     .          .          .  21-4 

trust  in  oppression            .          .  34~I4 


268 


Faith-Texts  and  Index 


Isaiah  30:  12  stay  thereon    . 

:  15  in  confidence 

31:1  trust  in  chariots 

:  i  look  not  unto  the  Holy  One 

32 :  9  ye  careless  daughters 

:  10  ye  careless  women   . 

:  ii  ye  careless  ones 

:  17  assurance  forever     . 

:  1 8  in  sure  dwellings 

33 :  2  waited  for  thee 

:  6  the  stability  of  thy  times 

:  1 6  shall  be  sure    . 

36:  5  wherein  thou  trustest 

:  5  on  whom  dost  thou  trust 

:  5  rebellest  against  me 

:  6  trustest  in  the  staff 

:  6  trust  in  him    . 

:  7  we  trust  in  the  Lord 

:  19  put  thy  trust  on  Egypt    . 

:  15  make  you  trust  in  the  Lord 

37:  10  in  whom  thou  trustest 

38:  1 8  hope  for  thy  truth  . 

42:  17  trust  in  graven  images 

43:  10  believe  me       ... 

47 :  8  dwellest  carelessly    . 

:  10  trusted  in  thy  wickedness 

49:  7  the  Lord  that  is  faithful  . 

50:  5  I  was  not  rebellious 

:  10  trust  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 

51:5  on  mine  arm  shall  they  trust 

53 :  i  believed  our  report 

55:3  the  sure  mercies 

57:  13  putteth  his  trust  in  me 

58: 14  delight  thyself  in  the  Lord 

59:  4  trust  in  vanity 

:  13  revolt     .... 

63:  10  they  rebelled 

65:  12  a  rebellious  people   . 

66:  14  his  enemies 


24-14 
24-15 
24-15 
30-16 
30-16 
30-16 
30-16 
20-16 
20-16 
20-5,16 

24-5 
10-16 
26-14 
24-14 

21-4 

24-14 
24-14 

24-5 
24-14 

00-7 
24-6 

30-17 
24-15 

io-7 

20-16 

30-16 

10-3 

20-4 

24-5 

33-5 

11-13 

10-16 

60-5 

24-5 

24-15 

20-4 

20-4 

20-4 

20-4 


Faith-Texts  and  Index 


269 


Jer.  2:37 


7:4 
:8 
:i4 
:28 

9:3 
>4 

12:5 
:6 

13=25 


14:8 

15:18 

17:5 

:7 

:7 


23:6 
:28 

25:8 

28:9 
:i5 

29:8 
:  II 


31:17 

32:37 
141 

33:6 
:i6 

39:18 

40:14 


thy  confidence 

seeketh  the  truth     . 

the  truth         .... 

wherein  thou  trustedst 

a  rebellious  heart     . 

trust  ye  not  in  lying  words 

ye  trust  in  lying  words 

wherein  ye  trust 

truth  is  perished 

valiant  for  the  truth 

trust  ye  not  in  any  brother 

wherein  thou  trustedst 

believe  them  not 

thy   measures    (measured   unto 

thee) 

trusted  in  falsehood 

the  hope  of  Israel     . 

waters  that  fail 

trusteth  in  man 

trusteth  in  the  Lord 

whose  hope  the  Lord  is 

the  hope  of  Israel     . 

my  hope          .... 

dwell  safely     .... 

speak  my  word  faithfully . 

have  not  heard  my  words 

hath  truly  sent  him 

trust  in  a  lie    . 

deceive  you     .... 

an  expected  «nd  (hope  in  your 

latter  end) 
trust  in  a  lie    . 

there  is  hope  .... 
dwell  safely  .... 
assuredly  .... 

truth 

dwell  safely     .... 
put  thy  trust  in  me 
believed  them  not    , 


30-14 
10-18 
10-18 

24-15 
20-4 

24-15 
24-15 
24-15 
10-18 
10-18 
24-14 
22-51 
12-14 

20-4 

34-15 

60-5,7 

io-3 

34-H 

24-5 

30-5 

60-5 

60-5 

20-16 

40-4 

11-4,18 

10-18 

24-15 
20-18 

00-17 

24-15 
00-17 
20-16 
10-16 
10-18 
00-16 

24-5 
11-13,18 


270 


Faith-Texts  and  Index 


Jer. 


42:5 
46:25 
48:7 
:  ii 

49:4 
:  ii 


50:7 
Lam.      3:21 

:26 


Ezek 


Dan. 


Hos. 


4:12 
13:6 
16:15 

19:5 
28:26 
.-26 
29:  16 
30:9 

34:25 

:28 
37:11 


39:26 

2:45 
3:28 
6:4 
=  23 

2:20 
5:9 

10:  13 
Ii:  12 


faithful  witness 

trust  in  him     .... 

trusted  in  thy  works 

settled  on  his  lees     . 

Beth-el  their  confidence    . 

trusted  in  her  treasures    . 

trust  in  me      . 

without  care  (at  ease) 

the  hope  of  their  fathers 

hope 

thy  faithfulness 

it  is  good  that  a  man  hope 

there  may  be  hope  . 

believed  that  .... 

made  others  to  hope 

trust  in  thine  own  beauty 

her  hope  was  lost     . 

dwell  safely     .... 

dwell  with  confidence  (securely) 

the  confidence 

the  careless  Ethiopians     . 

trust  in  his  own  righteousness 

dwell  safely  (securely) 

safe  (secure)    .... 

dwell  safely  (securely) 

our  hope  is  lost 

dwell  safely  (securely) 

dwelleth  safely  (securely) 

dwelt  safely  (securely) 

the  interpretation  thereof  sure    . 

trusted  in  him 

faithful 

believed    (had    trusted)    in   his 

God 

in  faithfulness 

shall  surely  be 

revolters          .... 

trust  in  thy  way 

faithful  . 


io-3 

24-14 

22-15 

24-16 

24-15 

24-15 

24-5 

60-5 

60-5 

60-17 

10-3 

60-17 

00-17 

I5-I3 
00-17 
22-16 
60-17 
30-16 
30-16 
30-14 
00-16 
24-16 
00-16 
30-16 
30-16 
30-16,17 
60-16 
60-16 
60-16 
10-16 

24-5 
10-4 

12-5 

10-3 
10-16 

20-4 
32-16 

00-4 


Faith-Texts  and  Index 


271 


Joel  3:16  the  hope  of  his  people       .          .  60-5 
Amos.  6:  i  trust  (are  secure)  in  the  moun- 
tain      24-14 

Jon.  3:5  believed  God  .          .         .         .  11-13 

Micah2:8  pass  by  securely       .          .          .  30-16 

7: 5  trust  ye  not  in  a  friend     .          .  12-14 

:  5  put    ye    not    confidence    in    a 

guide           ....  34-14 

Nahum  i :  7  trust  in  him    ....  60-5 

Hab.  1:5  will  not  believe        .         .  16-13 

2 : 4  shall  live  by  his  faith        .         .  10-8 

:  1 8  trusteth  therein        .         .          .  24-15 

Zeph.  2:  15  dwelt  carelessly        .          .          .  30-16 

3:  12  trusteth  not  in  the  Lord  .          .  24-5 

:  12  trust  in  the  name  of  the  Lord   .  60-7 

Zech.  7:11  refused  to  hearken  .          .         .  20-4 

:  12  as  an  adamant  stone         .          .  20-4 

9:12  prisoners  of  hope     .          .          .  00-17 

14:11  safely  inhabited       .          .          .  20-16 

Matt.  6: 30  O  ye  of  little  faith   .          .          .     10-5,7,13 

8:  10  so  great  faith            .          .          .  10-9 

:  13  as  thou  hast  believed        .          .  10-9 

:26  O  ye  of  little  faith   .          .          .     10-5,7,11 

9:2  seeing  their  faith      .          .          .  10-9,12 

:  22  thy  faith  hath  made  thee  whole  10-9 

:  28  believe  ye  that  I  am  able.          .  15-19 

:  29  according  to  your  faith     .          .  10-9 

12:21  in  his  name  shall  the  Gentiles 

trust  (hope)          .          .          .  31-11 
13: 58  because  of  their  unbelief            .  10-10 
14:31  thou  of  little  faith    .          .          .  10-9,11 
15:28  great  is  thy  faith      .          .          .  10-9 
16: 8  ye  of  little  faith       .          .          .  10-9,11 
17:  17  faithless  and    perverse   genera- 
tion    .....  10-5,6 
:  20  because  of  your  unbelief  .          .  10-6 
:  20  if  ye  have  faith        .          .          .  10-6 
18: 6  which  believe  in  (on)  me            .  !3~9 
21:21  if  ye  have  faith        .          .         .  10-6 


272 


Faith-Texts  and  Index 


Matt.  2i :  22  ask  in  prayer,  believing    .         .  10-5 

:  25  believe  him     .         .         .         .  11-13 

:  32  ye  believed  him  not          .         .  11-13 

:  32  believed  him  ....  11-13 

23:23  judgment,  mercy,  and  faith       .  10-5,6 

24:23  believe  it  not  .          .          .          .  10-13,19 

:  26  believe  it  not  .          .         .          .  10-13,19 

:  45  faithful  and  wise  servant           .  10-4 

25:  21,  23         thou  good  and  faithful  servant  10-4 

:  21,23  faithful  over  a  few  things           .  !4~4 

27:20  persuaded  the  multitude  .          .  20-18 

:  42  we  will  believe  (on)  him   .          .  14-10 

:  43  he  trusted  in  (on)  God     .          .  24-5 

28:  14  we  will  persuade  him        .         .  24-18 

Mark     1:15  believe  (in)  the  gospel      .         .  12-13 

2:5  Jesus  saw  their  faith         .         .  10-9,12 

4:40  ye  have  no  faith       .          .          .  10-5,7,11 

5 :  34  thy  faith  hath  made  thee  whole  10-9 

136  only  believe     ....  10-9,11 

6:6  because  of  their  unbelief            .  10-10 

9:  19  faithless  generation           .         .  10-5,10 

123  if  thou  canst  believe   (if  thou 

canst)          ....  10-9,10 

:  23  him  that  believeth  .         .         .  10-9 

:  24  I  believe          ....  10-9 

:  24  help  thou  mine  unbelief    .          .  10-9 

:  42  believe  in  (on)  me    .          .          .-  !3~9 

lo:  24  trust  in  riches           .          .          .  24-15 

:  52  thy  faith  hath  made  thee  whole  10-9 

11:22  have  faith  in  God    .         .         .  16-3,5,6 

:  23  believe  that     ...  15-5 

:  24  believe  that  ye  receive  them      .  15-5 

-.31  not  believe  him        .         .         .  11-13 

13:21  believe  him  (it)  not.         .         .  10-19 

15:32  see  and  believe         .         .         .  10-10 

16:  ii  believed  not    ....  10-19 

:  13  neither  believed  they  them        .  11-19 

:  14  their  unbelief            .          .          .  10-19 

:  14  believed  not  them    .         .         .  11-19 


Faith-Texts  and  Index  273 


Marki6:i6  he  that  believeth      .          .          .10-8,12,19 
:  16  he  that  believeth  not        .          .   10-8,12,19 
:  17  them  that  believe    .          .          .  10-6,19 
Luke     i :  I  surely  believed  (have  been  ful- 
filled)          ....  60-19 
:  17  the  disobedient         .          .  20-4 
:  20  thou  believest  not  my  words     .  11-13 
:  45  she  that  believeth    .  15-13 

5:20  he  saw  their  faith     .          .          .  10-9,12 

6:34  hope  to  receive         .          .          .  3  0-17 

:  35  hoping  for  nothing  again            .  30-17 

7:9  so  great  faith            .          .          .  10-9 

:  50  thy  faith  hath  saved  thee           .  10-12 

8:  12  should  believe  and  be  saved      .  10-8,13 
:  13  for  a  while  believe   .          .          .  10-8,13 
125  where  is  your  faith  .          .          .  10-5,7,11 
:  48  thy  faith  hath  made  thee  whole  10-9 
:  50  believe  only     ....  10-9,11 
9:41  faithless   and   perverse   genera- 
tion       10-5,10 

11:22  armour  wherein  he  trusted        .  24-15 

12:28  ye  of  little  faith       .          .          .  10-5,7,13 

142  faithful  and  wise  steward .          .  10-4 

:  46  the  unbelievers  (unfaithful)       .  10-4 

1 6 :  10  faithful  in  that  which  is  least      .  10-4 

:  1 1  have  not  been  faithful      .          .  10-4 

:ii  commit  to  your  trust        .          .  11-4 

:  12  have  not  been  faithful      .          .  10-4 

131  be  persuaded  .          .          .          .  20-18 

17:5  increase  our  faith     .          .          .  10-5,6 

:  6  if  ye  had  faith          .          .          .  10-5,6 

:  19  thy  faith  hath  made  thee  whole  10-9 

18: 8  faith  on  the  earth    .          .          .  IQ-5 

:  9  trusted  in  themselves        .          .  24-16 

:  42  thy  faith  hath  saved  thee           .  10-9 

19:17  faithful  in  a  very  little      .          .  10-4 

20:5  believed  ye  him        .          .          .  11-13 

:  6  persuaded    that    John    was    a 

prophet           ....  20-18 

18 


274 


Faith-Texts  and  Index 


Luke  22 :  32  that  thy  faith  fail  not 

:  67  ye  will  not  believe    . 

23 :  8  hoped  to  have  seen 

24:  21  trusted  (hoped)  that  it  had  been 

he       .          . 

:  25  believe  (in)  all          ... 

:4I  believed    not    (disbelieved)    for 

joy 

John  i :  7  through  him  might  believe 

:  12  them  that  believe  on  his  name    . 

:  50  believest  thou 

2:11  believed  on  him 

:  22  believed  the  Scripture 

:  23  believed  in  (on)  his  name 

124  commit     (trust)    himself    unto 
them  ..... 

3:  12  ye  believe  not 

:  12  how  shall  ye  believe 

:  15  whosoever  believeth  in  him 

:  1 6  whosoever  believeth  (on)  in  him 

:  1 8  believeth  on  him 

:  1 8  believeth  not  . 

:  1 8  hath  not  believed  in  (on)  the 
name      ..... 

:  36  he  that  believeth  on  the  Son 

:  36  he  that  believeth  (obeyeth)  not 
the  Son        .... 

4:  21  believe  me,  the  hour  cometh 

:  39  believed  on  him 

141  believed    because    of    his    own 
word  .... 

:  42  we  believe       .... 

:  48  ye  will  not  (in  no  wise)  believe    . 

:  50  believed  the  word    . 

:53  believed 

5 :  24  believeth  (him)  on  him     . 

:  38  him  ye  believed  not 

:  44  how  can  ye  believe  . 

:  45  in  whom  ye  trust  (set  hope) 


10-4,9,10,12 
10-19 
30-17 

35-19 


10-19 

10-11,19 

13-12 

15-10,11 
13-10 
11-19 
13-10 

11-14 
10-10 

IO-IO 
12-12 
13-12 


IO-9,I2 


21-2,4,12 

H-I3,I5 
13-10,11 

10-11 
IO-II 
IO-IO 
11-13,18 
IO-IO 

1  1-8 
ii-n 

IO-II 

33-13 


Faith-Texts  and  Index 


275 


John  4:46 
:46 
=  47 
'•47 
6:  29 
:30 
:35 
:36 
=  40 
=  47 
:64 
:64 
:69 
7=5 


=  39 

:48 

8:24 


'45 

:46 

9:  18 

'35 


10:25 
126 
••37 
:38 

=  38 


142 
11:15 


believed  Moses         .          .         .  11-11,13 

would  have  believed  me  .  .  11-11,13 
if  ye  believe  not  his  writings  .11-11,13,19 
believe  my  works  .  .  11-11,13,19 

believe  on  him          .          .          .  I3~IQ 

believe  thee     ....  n-io 

belie veth  on  me       .          .          .  I3~12 

believe  not      ....  lo-il 

believe th  on  him      .          .          .  13-12 

belie  veth  on  me  (believeth)        .  13-12 

that  believe  not        .          .          .  10-12,19 

that  believed  not     .          .          .  10-12,19 

we  believe  that  thou  art  .          .  15-12,19 

believe  in  (on)  him            .          .  13-10,19 

believed  on  him        .          .          .  13-10,11 

he  that  believeth  on  me    .          .  13-10 

they  that  believe  on  him            .  13-10 

believed  on  him       .          .          ,  I3-I1 

believe  not  that  I  am  he  .          .  15-7,8,19 

believed  on  him        .          .          .  I3"11 

believed  on  (had  believed)  him  .  11-19 

ye  believe  me  not     .          .          .  n-n 

why  do  ye  not  believe  me          .  I  i-i  I 

believe  that  he  had  been  blind    ,  15-1? 

believe  on  the  Son  of  God          .  13-10,11 

believe  on  him          .          .          .  I3"11 

I  believe          ....  10-10 

ye  believed  not         .          .          .  10-19 

believe  not,  because  ye  are  not    .  15-19 

believe  me  not           .          .          .  II-IO 

ye  believe  not  me     .          .          .  II-IO 

believe  the  works     .          .          .  11-10 
believe    (understand)    that   the 

Father  is  in  me     .          .          .  65-19 

believed  on  him       .          .          .  13-11 

believe   .....  10-10 

believeth  in  (en)  me          .          .  13-12 

believeth  in  (on)  me          .          .  13-2,12 

belie  vest  thou  this  .         .         .  16-2,13,19 


276  Faith-Texts  and  Index 

John  11:27  believe  that  thou  art  the  Christ  1 5-2 ,11,19 

:  40  if  thou  wouldest  believe    .          .  10-5,7 

:  42  believe  that  thou  hast  sent  me  I5~I9 

:  45  believeth  on  him      .         .         .  13-10 

:  48  believe  on  him          .          .          .  13-10 

12:  ii  believed  on  Jesus     .         .          .  13-10 

:  36  believe  in  (on)  the  light    .          .  13-12 

:  37  believed  not  on  him           .          .  13-10 

:  38  believed  our  report            .          .  13-13 

:  39  could    not    believe,     because 

Esaias  said            .          .          .  15-11,13 

:  42  believed  on  him        .          .          .  13-12 

:  44  believeth  on  me       .          .          .  13-7,11 

:  44  believeth  not  on  me           .          .  13-7,11 

:  46  whosoever  believeth  on  me          13-11,12,13 

:  47  believe  not  (keep  them  not)        60-12,13,19 

13:19  believe  that  I  am  he         .          .  15-2,11,19 

14:  i  believe  in  God          .          .          .  13-7,11 

:i  believe  also  in  me    .          .          .  13-7,11 

:  10  belie  vest  thou  not  that  I  am  in 

the  Father            .          .          .  15-19 

:  ii  believe  me  that   I   am  in   the 

Father         .          .          .   11,15-2,10,11,19 

:  ii  believe  me       ....  10-10,11 

:  12  believeth  on  me                 .          .  13-10 

:29  believe 10-2,11,19 

16: 9  they  believe  not  on  me     .          .  I3~9 

:  27  believed  that  I  came  out  from 

God 15-2,19 

:3O  believe  that  thou  earnest  forth 

from  God    .         .         .  I5~19 

:  31  believe    .....  10-19 

17:8  believed  that  thou  didst  send  me  1 5- 1 9 

:  20  believe  on  me           .          .          .  I3"11 

:  21  believe  that  thou  hast  sent  me  15-19 

19:35  believe    .....  10-19 

20: 8  saw  and  believed      .          .          .  10-19 

:  25  will  not  believe         .          .          .  10-17 

127  be  not  faithless        .         .         .  10-11,19 


Faith-Texts  and  Index 


277 


John  20:  27 
129 


Acts    2  :  44 
3:16 


4:4 


:40 

6:5 
-7 
:8 
:  12 
:i3 
:37 
:37 

9:  26 

142 

10:43 

=  45 

11:17 

:  21 

:24 

12:  20 

13:8 

:  12 

=  34 

'39 

:4i 

'43 


believing          ....  10-11,19 
believed          .         .         .          10-7,9,11,19 

believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  15-2,12,19 

believing          .          .          .          .  10-12 

all  that  believed      .          .          .  10-10 

faith  in  his  name      .          .          .  16-3,9 
the  faith  which  is  by  (through) 

him     .....  16-9 
many   which   heard   the  word 

believed      .         .         .  10-10,11,19 

them  that  Delieved           .         .  10-10 

believers         ....  10-10 

obey  God        ....  21-4 

them  that  obey  him          .         .  21-4 

as  many  as  obeyed  him    .          .  21-14 

as  many  as  obeyed  him    .          .  21-14 

to  him  they  agreed            .         .  21-18 

full  of  faith     ....  10-10 

obedient  to  the  faith         .         .  10-4,18 

full  of  faith  (grace)   .          .         .  60- 10 

believed  Philip  preaching          .  11-19 

believed.         ....  10-12,19 

believest  with  all  thine  heart       .  10-12,19 

believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Son      .  10-19 
believed    not    that    he    was    a 

disciple        ....  15-18 

believed  in  (on)  the  Lord.         .  14-10 

believeth  (on)  in  him        .          .  13-12 

they  which  believed          .          .  10-19 

believed  on  the  Lord        .          .  I4-I9 

believed.          ....  10-12 

full  of  faith     ....  10-10 

made  Blastus  their  friend           .  26-18 

from  the  faith           .          .          .  10-18 

believed.          ....  10-10,19 

sure  mercies  of  David       .          .  10-16 

all  that  believe         .          .          .  10-8,12 

believe   .....  16-13,19 

persuaded  (urged)  them    .          .  26-18 


278 


Faith-Texts  and  Index 


Acts  13:  48 
14:1 
:2 


15:5 
•7 
•9 
:  II 

16:1 


'34 
17:4 

'5 
:  12 

'31 
'34 

18:4 
:8 
:8 
:27 

19:2 

•4 

:8 


126 
20:21 

21  :  14 
:20 
:25 

22:  19 


believed.          ....  10-12,19 

believed.          ....  10-11,19 
unbelieving    Jews     (that    were 

disobedient)          .          .          .  20-2,10 

had  faith  to  be  healed       .          .  10-9 

persuaded  the  people         .          .  26-18 

continue  in  the  faith         .          .  10-12 

on  whom  they  believed     .          .  13-9,19 

the  door  of  faith       .          .          .  10-12 

which  believed          .          .          .  10-19 

hear  and  believe       .          .          .  10-1 1 

by  faith           ....  10-11 

believe  that  we  shall  be  saved  .  10-19 

believed.          ....  10-19 

established  in  the  faith     .          .  10-11 

faithful  to  the  Lord           .         .  11-4,10 

hope  of  their  gains             .          .  30-17 

believe  on  the  Lord.          .          .  14-9,12 

believing  in  God      .          .          .  11-7 

believed  (were  persuaded)          .  20-10,19 

believed  not    ....  20-19 

believed.          ....  10-11,19 

assurance  unto  all  men     .          .  10-16 

believed 10-11,19 

persuaded  the  Jews           .          .  26-18 

believed  on  (in)  the  Lord.          .  11-10,11 

believed 10-10,11 

believed  through  grace      .          .  10-9 

believed 10-10 

believe  on  him         .         .         .  13-10 

persuading  (as  to)  the  things     .  20-18 

believed  not  (disobedient)          .  20-2,4,19 

many  that  believed           .         .  10-12 

hath  persuaded        .         .         .  20-18 

faith  toward  our  Lord       .          .  I3"11 

would  not  be  persuaded    .          .  20-18 

believe    ....  10-19 

the  Gentiles  which  believe         .  10-19 

believed  on  thee       .         .         .  I4~I9 


Faith-Texts  and  Index 


279 


Acts  23: 3  the  hope  and  resurrection          ,  30-17 

:2i  yield  unto  them       .          .          .  21-18 

24:14  believing  all  things  .          .         .  11-13,19 

:  15  hope  toward  God     .         .         .  33-17 

:24  the  faith  in  Christ   .          .         .  13-11 

:26  hoped  that      ....  34-17 

26:6  the  hope  of  the  promise    .         .  30-17 

:  7  hope  to  come            .          .          .  30-17 

:  7  hope's  sake      ....  30-17 

:  8  a  thing  incredible     .          .          .  10-19 

:  1 8  sanctified  by  faith   .          .          .  13-11,12 

:  19  not  disobedient        .          .          .  21-4 

:  26  persuaded  that         .          .          .  20-18 

:  2  7  believest  thou  the  prophets  ?       .  11-13,19 

:  27  thou  believest           .          .          .  10-19 

:  28  persuadest  me  to  be  a  Christian  26-1 8 

27:  ii  believed    (gave    heed    to)    the 

master         v  21-13,14 

:  20  all  hope           ....  30-17 

:  25  I  believe  God  that  it  shall  be     .  11-7,17 

28:20  the  hope  of  Israel    .          .          .  30-17 

123  persuading  them      .          .          .  26-18 

:  24  believed  the  things  .          .          .  21-19 

:  24  believed  not  (disbelieved)           .  10-19 

131  with  all  confidence  (boldness)    .  60- 1 6 

Rom.  i:  5  obedience  to  the  (of)  faith         .  10-4,18 

:8  your  faith  is  spoken  of      .          .  10-4,11 

:  12  the  mutual  faith      .         .  .       10-11 

:  1 6  every  one  that  belie veth            .  10-12,13 

:  17  from  (by)  faith  to  (unto)  faith    .  10-7,8 

:  17  shall  live  by  faith    .         .         .  10-7,8 

130  disobedient  to  parents      .         .  21-4 

2:8  obey  the  truth          .          .          .  21-4 

c  8  obey  unrighteousness        .          .  21-4 

:  19  confident  that          .         .         .  20-16,18 

3 :  2  unto  them  committed  (intrusted 

with)            ....  10-14 

:  3  did  not  believe   (were  without 

faith)           .         .          .          .  10-3,4,13 


280 


Faith-Texts  and  Index 


Rom.  3:3  their  unbelief  (want  of  faith)       .  10-7,13 

:  3  the  faith  (faithfulness)      .          .  10-3 

:  22  by  faith  of   (through  faith  in) 

Jesus  Christ          .          .          .  16-3,12 

:  22  all  them  that  believe         .          .  10-4 

:  25  faith  in  (by)  his  blood      .         .  12-12 

:  26  belie veth  (hath  faith)  in  Jesus  10-12 

:  27  the  law  of  faith        .         .         .  10-7 

:  28  justified  by  faith      .         .         .  10-6,8 

130  by  faith           ....  10-8 

:  30  through  faith            .         .         .  10-8 

:  3 1  make  void  the  law  through  faith  1 0-6,8 

4:3  believed  God  .         .         .         .  n-8 

:  5  belie  veth  on  him      .         .         .  14-8 

:  5  his  faith          ....  10-8 

:  9  faith  was  reckoned  .         .         .  10-8 

:  1 1  the  faith          ....  10-8 

:  ii  them  that  believe    .         .         .  10-8 

:  12  that  faith  of  our  father  Abraham  10-6,8 

:  13  the  righteousness  of  faith           .  10-8 

:  14  faith  is  made  void    .          .         .  10-5,8 

:  16  it  is  of  faith    ....  10-5 

:  1 6  the  faith  of  Abraham        .         .  10-5,8 

:  17  him  whom  he  believed      „         .  10-5,8 

:  1 8  against  hope  believed  in  hope    .  30-17 

:  1 8  believed  in  hope       .         .         .  14-7 

:  19  not  weak  in  faith     .         .         .  10-7 

:  20  through  unbelief      .          .          .  10-7 

:  20  strong  in  faith          .          .          .  10-7 

:  24  believe  on  him         .         .         .  14-8,13 

5:1  justified  by  faith      .         .         .  10-11,12 

:  2  access  by  faith         .         .         .  10-9 

:2  rejoice  in  hope         .         .         .  30-17 

:  5  worketh  hope  and  hope  maketh 

not  ashamed         .          .         .  30-17 

6:8  believe  that  we  shall  also  live    .  15-17 

8:20  subjected  in  hope     .          .          .  30-17 

:  24  saved  by  hope          .         .         .  30-17 

:24  hope  that  is  seen      .         .         .  30-17 


Faith-Texts  and  Index 


281 


Rom.  8 :  25  hope  for  that  we  see  not 

:  38  persuaded  that 

9:  30  righteousness  which  is  of  faith 

:  32  sought  it  not  by  faith 

:  33  believeth  on  him 

10:  4  every  one  that  believeth 

:  6  righteousness  which  is  of  faith 

:  8  the  word  of  faith     . 

:  9  believe   that   God   hath   raised 
him     ..... 

:  10  believeth         .... 

:  1 1  believeth  on  him 

114  in  whom  they  have  not  believed . 

:  14  believed  on  him 

:  1 6  believed  our  report 

:  17  faith  (belief)  cometh 

:  21  a  disobedient  people 

1 1 :  20  because  of  (by  their)  unbelief    . 

:  20  standest  by  (thy)  faith     . 

:  23  in  unbelief       .... 

:  30  not  believed  (were  disobedient 
to  God         .... 

:  30  their  unbelief  (by  their  disobedi- 
ence) .... 

:  31  not  believed  (been  disobedient) 

:  32  in  unbelief  (unto  disobedience) 

12:  3  the  measure  of  faith 

:  6  the  proportion  of  faith 

:  12  rejoicing  in  hope 

13:  n  when  we  (first)  believed   . 

14:  I  weak  in  (faith)  the  faith 

:  2  believeth  that  he  may  eat 

:  14  persuaded  by  (in)  the  Lord 

:  22  hast  thou  faith 

:  23  of  faith  ..... 

:  23  not  of  faith     .... 

15:4  have  hope        .... 

:  12  in  him  shall  the  Gentiles  trust     . 

:  13  the  God  of  hope 


30-17 
25-18 
10-7,8 
10-6,7,8,9 
14-9,11,12 

10-12 
IO-I2 

10-11,12,19 
15-2,12,19 

IO-I2 
14-9,11 
13-11,12 


11-13 

10-7,13 

2O-2,4 

io-8 
10-8 
io-8 

20-2,5 

20-2,4,5 

20-2,4,5 

20-2,4,5 

10-6,7 

10-6 

30-17 

10-19 

10-7 

10-18 

20-18 

10-7 

10-7,8 

10-7,8 

30-17 

34-9 
30-17 


282 


Faith-Texts  and  Index 


Rom.  15:13 

:  14 

:  24 

131 

16:26 

I  Cor.    i  :  9 
:2i 
2:4 
:  5 
3:5 
4:2 
:  17 
6:6 
7:  12 
:  13 
:  14 
:  14 
:  14 
:  25 
9:  10 
:  10 
:  17 
10:  13 
:  27 
11:18 
12:9 
13:2 
:  7 
:7 
:  13 
:  13 
14:22 
:  22 
:  23 
:  24 
15:2 
:  II 
:  14 
:  17 


peace  in  believing    .          .          .  10-10,11 

persuaded  of  you     .          .          .  20-18 

trust  (hope)  to  see  you     .          .  30-17 

do  not  believe  (are  disobedient)  20-2  ,4,19 

the  obedience  of  faith       .          .  10-4,18 

God  is  faithful          .         .         .  10-3 

them  that  believe    .         .         .  10-12 

enticing  (persuasive)  words       .  20-18 

your  faith        ....  10-7,14 

by  whom  ye  believed        .         .  10-11 

found  faithful.          .         .         .  10-4 

faithful  in  the  Lord           .         .  10-4,11 

the  unbelievers         .          .          .  10-6 

believe  th  not  (unbelieving)        .  10-6 

believe  th  not  (unbelieving)        .  10-6 

unbelieving     ....  10-7 

unbelieving     ....  10-7 

the  unbelieving         .          .          .  10-6 

faithful  (trustworthy)       .         .  10-4 

in  hope  .....  30-17 

his  hope           ....  30-17 

committed  (intrusted)  unto  me  10-14 

God  is  faithful          .         .         .  10-3 

them  that  believe  not       .         .  10-19 

believe  it         ....  10-18 

faith       .....  10-5 

all  faith           ....  10-6,7 

belie  veth  all  things            .          .  10-14 

hopeth  all  things      .          .          .  30-14,17 

now  abideth  faith    .         .         .  10-7 

hope       .                                      .  30-7.I7 

them  that  believe     .          .          .  10-7,13 

them  that  believe  not       .          .  10-7,13 

unbelievers      ....  10-7 

one  that  believeth  not  .  10-7 
believed  in  vain  .  .  10-7,11,12,19 

so  ye  believed  .  .  .  10-11,19 
your  faith  is  vain  .  .  .10-11,12,19 
your  faith  is  vain  .  .  10-11,12,19 


Faith-Texts  and  Index 


283 


1  Cor.  15:  19  hope  in  Christ          .          .          .  32-5,12 

16:7  (hope)  trust  to  tarry         .         .  30-17 

:  13  stand  fast  in  the  faith       .          .  10-11 

2  Cor.    1:7  our  hope  of  you        .          .          .  30-17 

19  trust  in  ourselves     .          .          .  24-5,16 

:  10  in  whom  we  trust  (have  set  our 

hope)                                         .  33-5 

:  1 3  trust  (hope)  ye  shall  acknowledge  35- 1 6 

:  15  this  confidence         .          .         .  20-16 

:  1 8  God  is  true  (faithful)        .          .  10-3 

:  24  dominion  over  your  faith           .  10—5,6,7 

:  24  by  faith  ye  stand     .          .         .  10-5,6,7 

2:3  confidence  in  you     .          .          .  24-14,16 

3 : 4  trust  to  God- ward   .          .         .  20-7 

:  12  such  hope        ....  30-17 

4:4  them  which  believe  not    .         .  10-7 

:  13  spirit  of  faith            .         .         .  10-7 

:  13  I  believed        ....  10-7 

:  13  believe    .....  10-7 

5:6  confidence  (of  good  courage)      .  60-7,16 

:  7  walk  by  faith            .          .          .  10-6 

:8  confident  (of  good  courage)        .  60-7,16 

:  ii  we  persuade  men     .          .          .  26-18 

:n  I  (hope)  trust.         „          .          .  30-16 

6:  14  unbelievers      ....  10-7 

-.15  he  that  belie veth  (a  believer)      .  10-7 

:  15  an  infidel  (unbeliever)       .          .  10-7 

7: 1 6  confidence    in     (good    courage 

concerning)  you  .          .          .  62-14 

8:5  as  we  hoped    ....  30-17 

:  7  in  faith  .....  10-6 

:22  confidence  which  I  have  in  you  .  20-14 

9:4  confident  boasting   .          .         .  60- 1 6 

10:2  that  confidence         .         .          .  60- 1 6 

:7  trust  to  (in)  himself          .         .  21-11,16 

:  15  having  hope    .          .         .  30-17 

:  15  your  faith        ....  10-10 

11:17  confidence  of  boasting       .          .  60- 1 6 

13:5  in  the  faith     .         .         .  10-11 


284  Faith-Texts  and  Index 

2  Cor.  13:6  trust  that  (hope)  ye  shall  know  35~i6 

Gal.  1:10  persuade  men           .          .          .  21-18 

:  23  preacheth  the  faith            .          .  10-18 

2 :  7  committed     unto     (intrusted 

with)  me     ....  10-14 

:  1 6  the    faith    of    (faith    in)    Jesus 

Christ          ....  16-3,12 

:  1 6  believed  in  (on)  Jesus  Christ     .  16-3,12 

:  16  the  faith  of  (faith  in)  Christ      .  16-3,12 

:2O  the  faith  of  (in  faith,  the  faith 

which  is  in)  the  Son       .          .  16-3,10,12 

3:1  not  obey          ....  21-4 

:  I  the  truth         ....  40-18 

:2  the  hearing  of  faith  .        10-9,10,11,18 

:  5  the  hearing  of  faith  .          10-6,9,10,18 

:  6  Abraham  believed  God     .         .  1 1-5,8 

:  7  they  which  are  of  faith     .         .  10-8 

:  8  justify  through  faith         .          .  10-5,8 

:  9  they  which  be  of  faith       .          .  10-5,8 

:  9  faithful  Abraham     .         .         .  10-5,8 

:  1 1  shall  live  by  faith    .         .         .  10-8 

:  12  the  law  is  not  of  faith     .           .  10-6,8 

:  14  through  faith            .          .          .  10-9,10,12 

:22  by  faith  of  (in)  Jesus  Christ     .  16-3,9,12 

:  22  them  that  believe     .          .          .  10-9 

123  before  faith  came     .          .          .  10-9,11,12 

:  23  shut  up  unto  the  faith      .          .  10-9 

:  24  justified  by  faith      .         .         .  10-12 

:  25  after  that  faith  is  come     .         .  10-12 

:  26  by  faith  in  Christ    .         .         .  12-12 

5:5  wait  for  the  hope     .         .         .  30-17 

:  5  righteousness  by  faith       .         .  10-12 

:  6  faith  which  worketh  by  love      .10-10,11,12 

:7  not  obey  the  truth            .         .  21-4 

:  8  this  persuasion         .          .          .  20-18 

:  10  I  have  confidence  in  you  .          .  23-14,16 

:  22  goodness,  faith         .          .          .  10-5 

6:  10  the  household  of  faith       .          .  10-11 

Eph.  i:  i  the  faithful  in  Christ  Jesus        .  10-4,11 


Faith-Texts  and  Index 


285 


Eph.  i :  12  first  trusted  (had  hoped  before) 

in  Christ      ....  32-10 

:  13  in  whom  ye  believed         .          .  12-12 

:  15  your  faith  in  the  Lord      .          .  12-10,11 

:  1 8  the  hope  of  his  calling       .          .  30-16 

:  19  who  believe     .          .          .          .  10-12 

2 : 2  the  children  of  disobedience       .  20-4 

:  8  saved  through  faith           .          .  10-12 

:  12  having  no  hope        .          .          .  30-16,17 

3:12  access  with  confidence      .          .  20-16 

:  12  by  the  faith  (through  our  faith 

in)  of  him    ....  16-3,11,12 

:  17  dwell  in  your  hearts  by  faith     .  10-11 

4: 4  one  hope  of  your  calling  .          .  30-17 

:5  one  faith          .          .          .  10-10,11,12 

-.13  the  unity  of  the  faith        .          .  10-11,12 

5 : 6  the  children  of  disobedience      .  20-4 

6:  1 6  the  shield  of  faith    .          .          .  10-5 

:2i  faithful  minister       .          .          .  10-4,11 

:  23  with  faith        ....  10-9 

Philip.  1:6  confident  of  this      .          .          .  26-16,17 

:  14  waxing  confident      .          .          .  21-16 

:2O  my  hope          ....  30-17 

:  25  this  confidence         .         .          .  20-16 

:25  your  joy  of  (in  the)  faith  .          .  10-11,18 

127  the  faith  of  the  gospel       .          .  16-10,18 

:29  believe  on  him          .         .          .  13-11 

2:17  service  of  your  faith          .          .  10-10 

123  hope  to  send  ....  30-17 

:24  trust  in  the  Lord  that  I  shall 

come 22,25-17 

3:3  confidence  in  the  flesh       .          .  22-15,16 

3: 3  confidence  in  the  flesh       .          .  22-15,16 

:  4  trust   (have  confidence)  in  the 

flesh   .....  22-15,16 

:  9  through  the  faith  (in)  of  Christ  16-3,12 

:  9  of  (from)  God  by  faith     .          .  10-12 

Col.  1:2  faithful  brethren      .          .          .  10-4 

14  your  faith  in  Christ           .          .  10-4,10 


286 


Faith-Texts  and  Index 


Col.  1:5  the  hope          ....  30-17 

:  7  faithful  minister       .          .          .  10-4 

:  23  continue  in  the  faith         .          .  10-9 

:  23  the  hope  of  the  gospel       .          .  30-17 

:  27  the  hope  of  glory     .          .          .  30-17 

2:5  your  faith  in  Christ           .          .  13-11 

:  7  established  in  the  (your)  faith  10-10 

:  12  the  faith  of  (in)  the  operation  of 

God    .....  16-10 

3 : 6  the  children  of  disobedience       .  20-4 

4: 7  a  faithful  minister    .          .          .  10-4 

:  9  a  faithful  and  beloved  brother  .  10-4 

1  Thess.  i :  3  your  work  of  faith  .         .         .  10-10 

13  patience  of  hope       .          .          .  30-16,17 
:7  all  that  believe         .          .          .  1 0-6,10,11 
:8  your  faith  to  God- ward    .          .  1 6-6,10,11 

2 :  4  put  in  trust  (intrusted)  with  the 

gospel           ....  10-14 

:  10  you  that  believe       .          .          .  10-19 

:  13  you  that  believe       .          .          .  10-7 

:  19  our  hope          ....  30-15,17 

3:2  your  faith        ....  10-4,11 

:5  your  faith        ....  10-4,10 

:6  your  faith        ....  10-4,11 

:7  your  faith        ....  10-4,11 

:  10  your  faith        ....  10-4,11 

4:  14  believe  that  Jesus  died      .          .  16-19 

5:8  the  breastplate  of  faith     .          .  10-6,7,10 

:  8  the  hope  of  salvation         .          .  30-17 

:  24  faithful  .....  10-3 

2  Thess.  1:3  your  faith       ....  10-4,11 

14  your  patience  and  faith    .  .  10-4,11 
:  10  them  that  believe     .          .          .  10-10,19 
:  10  our  testimony  among  you  was 

believed       ....  10-10,19 

:  ii  the  work  of  faith      .          .          .  10-10 

2:11  believe  a  lie     ....  11-10,18 

:  12  believed  not  the  truth       .          .  11-18 

:  13  belief  of  the  truth    .         .         .  10-18 


Faith-Texts  and  Index 


287 


2  Thess.  2:16  good  hope       ....  30-17 
3:2  all  men  have  not  faith      .         .  10-11 
:  3  the  Lord  is  faithful            .          .  10-3 
:  4  confidence  in  the  Lord      .          .  22-14 
i  Tim.  i:  i  our  hope          ....  30-9,17 
:  i  my  own  son  in  the  faith  .          .  10-1 1 
:  4  in  faith  .....  10-7 
:  5  faith  unfeigned         .          .          .  10-7 
:  1 1  committed  to  my  trust     .          .  10-14 
:  12  counted  me  faithful           .          .  10-4,10 
:  13  ignorantly  in  unbelief        .          .  10-11 
:  14  abundant  with  faith          .          .  12-9 
:  15  a  faithful  saying       .          .         .  10-18 
:  1 6  believe  on  him          .          .         .  14-12 
:  19  holding  faith  ....  10-11 
:  19  concerning  faith  have  made  ship- 
wreck          ....  10-11,18 
2:7  a  teacher  in  faith     .          .         ,  10-11 
:  15  continue  in  faith      .          .          .  10-4,5,7 
3:1  a  true  (faithful)  saying     .          .  10-18 
:  9  the  mystery  of  the  faith   .          .  10-11,18 
:  ii  faithful  in  all  things          .          .  10-4 
:  13  boldness  (confidence)        .          .  60- 10 
:  13  in  the  faith  which  is  in  Christ 

Jesus           ....  12-10,11 

:  14  hoping  to  come        .          .          .  30-17 

:  16  believed  on               .          .          .  10-11 

4:1  depart  from  the  faith        .          .  10-11,18 

:3  them  which  believe            .          .  10-6,18 

:  6  the  words  of  (the)  faith    .          .  10-1 1 

:  9  a  faithful  saying       .          .          .  10-18 

:  10  trust  in  the  living  God      .          .  34-6,8 

:  10  those  that  believe    .          .          .  10-6,8 

:  12  the  believers   ....  10-6 

:  12  in  faith  .....  10-6 

5:  5  trusteth  in  (hath  set  her  hope 

on)  God      ....  34-6,7 

:  8  denied  the  faith       .          .  10-6 

:  8  an  infidel  (unbeliever)      .  10-6 


288 


Faith-Texts  and  Index 


1  Tim.  5:  12  their  first  faith  (pledge)    .         .  10-10 

:  1 6  that  belie veth           .          .          .  10-6,10 

6:2  believing  masters     .          .         .  10-7 

:  2  faithful  (believing)  .          .          .  10-7 

:  10  erred  from  the  faith          .          .  10-7 

:  II  godliness,  faith         .          .          .  10-7 

:  12  the  good  fight  of  (the)  faith         .  10-8 

:  17  trust    in    (their    hope    set    on) 

riches.                                      .  34-5,6,15 

:  21  erred  concerning  the  faith          .  10-7 

2  Tim.  1:5  the  unfeigned  faith            .          .  10-7,18 

:5  persuaded  that  .  .  .  20-7,18 

:  12  whom  I  have  believed  .  .  10-11 

:  12  persuaded  that  .  .  .  20-18 

:  13  in  faith  .....  10-11 

2:2  faithful  men  ....  10-4,7,10 

:  ii  a  faithful  saying  .  .  .  10-18 

:  13  we  believe  not  (are  faithless)  .  10-4 

-.13  He  abideth  faithful  .  .  10-3 

:  1 8  the  faith  of  some  .  .  .  10-7,18 

:  22  righteousness,  faith  .  .  10-7 

3 : 2  disobedient  to  parents  .  .  20-4 

:  8  reprobate  concerning  the  faith  .  10-6,7 

:  10  faith  .....  10-7 

:  14  assured  of  ....  10-16 

:  15  faith  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  .  12-11,12 

4:7  kept  the  faith .  .  .  .  10-4,10 

Tit.  I  I  the  faith  of  God's  elect  .  .  10-10 

2  hope  of  eternal  life  .          .         .  30-17 

3  committed  unto  me  (intrusted)  10-14 

4  the  common  faith    .          .         .  10-11 
6  faithful  children  (children  that 

believe)        ....  10-4,10 

9  the  faithful  word      .         .         .  10-18 
13  sound  in  the  faith    .         .         .  10-7,18 

15  unbelieving      .          .                    .  10-7 

1 6  disobedient      ....  20-4 
2  sound  in  faith           .          .          .  10-7,18 

10  all  good  fidelity        .         .         .  10-4 


Faith-Texts  and  Index 


289 


Tit.  2:13  that  blessed  hope     . 

3:1  to  obey  magistrates 

:  3  disobedient     .... 

:  7  the  hope  of  eternal  life 

:  8  a  faithful  saying 

:  8  believed  in  God 

:  15  in  the  faith      .... 

Phil.   :  5  faith  which  thou  hast  toward 

the  Lord      .... 
:6  thy  faith          . 

:  21  confidence  in  thy  obedience 

Heb.  2:  13  put  my  trust  in  him 

:  17  faithful  high  priest  . 

3 :  2  faithful  to  him  that  appointed 

him    ..... 
:  5  faithful  in  all  his  house     . 

:  6  but  Christ  over  his  own  house  . 

:  6  the  confidence 

:  6  the  hope 

:  12  an  evil  heart  of  unbelief   . 

:  1 8  them  that  believed  not   (were 

disobedient) 
:  19  unbelief  .... 

4:2  faith 

:  3  which  have  believed 

:6  because   of   unbelief    (disobedi- 

ence) 

4:  ii  example  of  unbelief   (disobedi- 

ence) 

6:  I  faith  toward  God     . 

:g  persuaded       . 

:  1 1  assurance  of  hope    . 

:  12  through     faith     and     patience 

inherit         .... 
:  1 8  the  hope  set  before  us 

10:  22  assurance  (fulness)  of  faith 

:  23  the  profession  of  our  faith  (con- 

fession of  our  hope) 
:  23  he  is  faithful   .... 

19 


30-17 
20-4 
20-4 

30-17 

10-6,18 

1 1-6 

io-7 

10-11 

IO-II 

21-14,16 

24-7 

10-4 

10-4 

10-4 

10-3 

60-16 

30-17 

10-4,5,8 

20-2,4,5 

10-4,5 

10-5,13 

IO-5J3 

20-2,4,5,13 

20-2,4,5,13 

14-6 

10-14 

30-16,17 

io-4,5 

30-17 

10-7,8,12 

30-6 
10-3 


2QQ  Faith-Texts  and  Index 


Heb.  10:38  live  by  faith   ....  10-8 

:  39  them  that  believe    .         .         .  10-8 

II :  i                    faith 10-7 

:i  things  hoped  for      .         .         .  30-7,17 

:3  through  faith  we  understand     .  10-7,18 

:  4  by  faith           ....  10-5,6 

:  5  by  faith           ....  10-5 

:  6  without  faith  ....  10-7,18 

:6  believe  that  He  is    .         .         .  15-8,11,18 

:  7  by  faith           ....  10-6,8,13 

:  7  by  (according  to)  faith     .         .  10-6 

:  8  by  faith           ....  10-6 

:9  by  faith           ....  10-6 

:  ii  through  faith            .         .         .  10-6 

:  II  judged  him  faithful           .          .  10-3 

:  13  died  in  faith    ....  10-7 

:  17  by  faith           ....  10-6 

:  20  by  faith           ....  10-6 

:  21  by  faith           ....  10-6 

:  22  by  faith           .         .         .         .  10-6 

:23  by  faith           ....  10-6 

:  24  by  faith           ....  10-6 

:  27  by  faith           ....  10-6 

:  28  through  faith            .         .         .  10-6 

:  29  by  faith           ....  10-6 

:  30  by  faith           ....  10-6 

:  31  by  faith           ....  10-6 

:  31  believed  not  (were  disobedient)  20-4,6 

:  33  through  faith            .         .         .  10-6 

:  39  through  faith            .         .         .  10-6 

12:2  author  and  finisher  (perfecter) 

of  our  faith.          .          .          .  10-6,7 

13:7  whose  faith  follow    .         .         .  10-5,7 

:  17  obey  them       ....  21-4 

:  1 8  we  trust  we  have     .         .         .  25-18 

James  1 : 3  the  trying  of  your  faith    .         .  10-7 

:  6  ask  in  faith     ....  10-5 

2 :  i  the   faith   of   our    Lord   Jesus 

Christ         .         .         .  10-3,4,7,11 


Faith-Texts  and  Index  291 

James  2: 5  rich  in  faith    ....  10-8 

:  14  hath  faith        ....  10-6,8 

:  14  can  faith  save  him  .          .          .  10-6,8 

:  17  faith       .....  10-6 

:  1 8  thou  hast  faith         .         .         .  10-6 

:  18  thy  faith          ....  10-6 

:  18  my  faith          ....  10-6 

:  19  believest  that  there  is  one  God   .  15-18 

:  19  believe   .....  10-6,18 

:  20  faith  without  works          .         .  10-6 

:2i  faith  wrought  with  his  works      .  10-6 

:  22  faith  made  perfect  .          .          .  10-6 

:  23  believed  God  ....  10-6,8 

:  24  not  by  faith  only     .         .         .  10-6,8 

:  26  faith  without  works          .         .  10-6 

3:3  obey  us                     .         .         .  21-4 

5:15  the  prayer  of  faith  .          .          .  10-5 

i  Pet.  1:3  a  lively  hope  ....  30-16,17 

:  5  through  faith  unto  salvation      .  10-8,12 

:  7  the  trial  of  your  faith       .          .  10-5,8 

:  8  in  (on)  whom  believing     .          .  13-1 1 

:  9  the  end  of  your  faith        .          .  10-12 

:  13  hope  to  the  end        .          .          .  30-16,17 

:  21  do  believe  (are  believers)  in 

God I3-7J3 

-.21  your  faith       ....  10-7,13 

:22                 hope 30-7»I3 

2 : 6  believeth  on  him     .         .         .  14-9 

:7  you  which  believe  .         .         .  10-4,10,11 

:  7  them    which    be    disobedient 

(such  as  disbelieve)       .         .  20-4,10 

:  8  being  disobedient     .          .          .  20-4,10 

3 :  I  obey  not  the  word  .          .          .  20-4 

:  5  trusted  (hoped)  in  God     .         .  33-7 

:  15  a  reason  of  the  hope          .          .  30-16,17 

:  20  were  disobedient      .          .          .  20-4 

4:  19  a  faithful  Creator    .          .          .  10-3 

5: 9  stedfast  in  the  (your)  faith        .  10-6 

:  12  a  faithful  brother     .         .         .  10-4 


292 


Faith-Texts  and  Index 


2  Pet.  i :  i 

=  5 
I  John  i 


19 

23 


16 


4 

5 

10 
10 

10 

13 
14 


2  John  :  12 

3  John  :  5 


Jude  :  3 

=  5 
:  20 

Rev.  i  :  5 
:  10 


13:  10 
14:  12 
17:  14 


precious  faith  .  .  .  12-1 1 

your  faith  ....  10-11 

he  is  faithful  ....  10-3 

this  hope  ....  30-16,17 

assure  our  hearts  .  .  .  20-16 
believe  on  (in)  the  name  of  his 

Son  .....  11-9,11 

believe  not  every  spirit  .  .  10-15 

believed  the  love  .  .  .  16-8 
believeth  that  Jesus  is  the 

Christ  .  .  .  15-2,11,12,19 

our  faith  ....  10-10,12 
believeth  that  Jesus  is  the  Son 

of  God  .  .  .  15-2,11,12,19 

believeth  on  the  Son  of  God  .  13-7,  i 1 

believeth  not  God  .  .  .  11-7,19 
believed  not  the  record  (in  the 

witness)  .  .  .  .  !3-I9 

believe  on  the  name  .  .  13-11 
the  confidence  that  we  have  in 

him  .....  66-16 

trust  (hope)  to  come  .  .  30-17 
doest  faithfully  (a  faithful 

work)  ....  10-4 
trust  (hope)  I  shall  shortly  see 

thee  .....  30-17 

contend  for  the  faith  .  .  10-6,18 

them  that  believed  not  .  .  10-5 

your  most  holy  faith  .  .  10-5,7,18 

the  faithful  witness  .  .  10-3 

faithful  unto  death  .  .  10-4 

denied  my  faith  .  .  .  10-9,18 
my  faithful  martyr  (my  witness, 

my  faithful  one)  .  .  .  10-4 

faith  .....  10-5 

the  faithful  and  true  witness  .  10-3 

the  faith  of  the  saints  .  .  16-7 
the  faith  of  Jesus  .  .  16-3,4,10,11 

faithful  .....  10-4 


Faith-Texts  and  Index  293 


Rev.    19:11  faithful  and  true      .         .         .  10-3 

21:5  true  and  faithful      .          .          .  10-18 

:8  unbelieving     ....  10-8,19 

22:6  faithful  and  true      .         .         .  10-18 


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